When you need a distraction, RAVE! (video)

Caitlyn Trudnich (kroq.cbslocal.com); Dev, Crystal Quintero (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

(Tove Lo) "Habits (Stay High)" She's Not on Drugs, just in love. See Sunset Strip Music Festival

Summer concerts, Los Angeles (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images/kroq.cbslocal.com)

Sigh. Coachella, Outside Lands, and HARD Summer have officially come and gone.  We’ve hung up our flower headbands and put away our wellies.  But don’t worry, there are still plenty of awesome music festivals coming up in a nearby location. From indie rock, to hip hop, to EDM, these upcoming events have something for every type of music-lover.

DIY Fest, Pomona

What's so "spiritual" about a concert? It's a communal experience with matching physical moves to a single cue, dancing to the beat. That's a way of peacefully nonverbally communicating, NVC, it's fun, it's a distraction, it can even be a celebration. We get out of our left brains and into our bodies. Then there are the lights, the stars, the other people coming together for a single purpose. It doesn't have to be a spiritual experience, but it can be!

• Dead Kennedys' singer Jello Biafra
• Unlocking The Truth to play Hollywood! (Coachella)
• Sweden's Lykke Li in L.A. ("Get Some")

Together Pangea

Echo Park Rising – August 15th-17th

Now in its fourth year, Echo Park Rising is a FREE festival, combining live music, art, food, and activities celebrating the eclectic neighborhood that is Echo Park.  Live performances from over 200 of LA’s best up-and-coming acts, including Local’s Only band Together Pangea. Enjoy strolling the local businesses and restaurants, including Blue Bag Records, Origami Vinyl, and Mohawk Bend. And it wouldn’t be a festival without yummy food!  Food trucks in attendance include Coolhaus and The Grilled Cheese Truck – mmm!

Located on main routes of Sunset Blvd., Glendale Blvd., Alvarado Ave. and Echo Park Ave. Friday 4:00-10:00 pm, Saturday 12:00-10:00 pm, Sunday 12:00-10:00 pm. Free Admission.

(Courtesy of Getty Images/Kevin Winter)

Uforia Music Festival – August 16th

Sponsored by the Hispanic American music service Uforia, this festival includes two stages, featuring popular acts in both Latin and hip hop genres, including Kid Cudi, Ludacris, and Mexican rock group Camila. Held at LA’s Exposition Park, the festival will also include a Vendor’s Village and tons of food-trucks all day.

Exposition Park, 700 State Dr., Los Angeles. 2:45 pm-12:00 am. Gen. Admission $46.05 + fees.

(Courtesy of Getty Images/Robyn Beck)

Venice Beach Music Fest – August 23rd

Whenever we visit Venice Beach, it’s guaranteed we’ll find an eclectic mix of cultures and unique arts.  The 9th Annual Venice Beach Music Fest perfectly reflects the spirit of the area, with an all-day fun and FREE experience! Live performances include legendary singer Willie Chambers, funk rockers Zen Robbi, and Middle Eastern bellydancing from Ya Harissa Bellydance Theater.  And don’t forget to hit up the after-party, featuring a founding member of Black Flag, Chuck Dukowski!

Windward Plaza Park, 1 Windward Ave., Venice Beach. 11:00 am-7:00 pm. Free admission.

(Courtesy of Getty Images/Trixie Trextor)

FYF Fest – August 23rd-24th

What began as a small music event in Echo Park created by an 18 year-old Sean Carlson, has now become a massive music festival that tons of LA festival goers look forward to every year!  Now in its 11th year and located at The LA Sports Arena and Exposition Park, this upcoming SOLD-OUT festival (like all other sellouts has lots of tickets available at the window, scalpers out front, people with a few extras, dealers, brokers, and craigslisters) promises to be a massive talent fest. With names like The Strokes, Phoenix, Interpol, Haim, Against Me!, and more, it’s sure to be a blast.

 

LA Sports Arena and Exposition Park, 3939 S. Figueroa St., Los Angeles. Saturday & Sunday, 2:00 pm-12:00 am.

Long Beach Psyclone August 29th-31st

SoCal rockabilly lovers will definitely love this music festival, featuring tons of rockabilly and psychobilly performances happening all Labor Day weekend long. Held at the Seaport Marina Hotel, the weekend includes internationally known performers like The Sharks (UK) and The Long Tall Texans (UK), as well as fun record hop events, and a pool party and BBQ to culminate the weekend!

Seaport Marina Hotel, 6400 E. Pacific Coast Hwy, Long Beach. Weekend Pass Admission $80 + fees.

Shoreline Jam Music Festival – August 30th-31st

This awesome, Labor Day Weekend event, sponsored by KROQ, features a jam-packed live music lineup, including KROQ favorites The Dirty Heads, Pepper, and Seedless!  Located at the historic Queen Mary in Long Beach, festival-goers can enjoy a cold drink and yummy food as you stroll through the many vendors and take in the scenic views of the Long Beach harbor!

The Queen Mary, 1126 Queens Highway, Long Beach. General Admission $25.  VIP Admission $75 (includes 2 drink tickets, VIP Lounge access, and access to explore the Queen Mary!)

(Courtesy of Getty Images/Theo Wargo)

Made In America Festival – August 30th-31st

Co-created by hip hop mogul Jay Z in 2012, this successful festival originated in Philadelphia. But this year marks the first time the festival will be held in Los Angeles at Grand Park. The Rocky Stage, Liberty Stage, and Freedom Tent will feature performances from some of the best in rock, hip hop, and EDM, including Imagine Dragons, Kayne West, John Mayer, Iggy Azalea, Weezer, Rise Against, Capital Cities, Steve Aoki, and many more.

Grand Park, 227 N. Spring Street, Los Angeles. 2-Day Pass Admission $200 + fees.

Mad Decent Block Party – September 13th

Created by Mad Decent founder Diplo in 2008, this Block Party tour will be visiting Los Angeles in September. Taking place at the LA Center Studios, this vibrant event will include performances from members of the Mad Decent family, including Laidback Luke, singer Elliphant, and Diplo himself!  Hey, who knows?  Maybe even rapper Riff Raff will make a guest appearance.

LA Center Studios, 1201 W. 5th Street, Los Angeles. Doors 1:00 pm

(Britt Bickel)

Sunset Strip Music Festival – September 20th-21st

One of the most happening music events in LA is the SSMF! Since 2008, the iconic Sunset Strip has been filled with performances on the street and on the legendary stages of venues such as the Whiskey A Go-Go, The Roxy Theatre, and Rainbow Bar & Grill. This year, expect the Strip to get rocked with major performances including, Jane’s Addiction, Empire Of The Sun, Cold War Kids, Mayer Hawthorne, Tove Lo of "Habits (Stay High)" fame, and more.

Saturday, 2:00-11:00 pm, Sunday, 2:00-10:00 pm. 2 Day Pass Admission $125 + fees.

Women, gun laws intersect in Santa Barbara

Sonali Kolhatkar (uprisingradio); Crystal Quintero, CC Liu, Pfc. Sandoval, Wisdom Quarterly

University students gather near Royce Hall at UCLA to pay tribute to the Isla Vista victims during a candlelight vigil Monday made front page of LA Times (Wally Skalij/latimes.com).

  
Misogyny and Gun Laws, Isla Vista

A mass killing in the Santa Barbara County town of Isla Vista on Friday resulted in seven people dead, including the suspected perpetrator, and 13 injured.

Twenty-two year old Elliot Rodger, a privileged young man of half-Anglo, half-Chinese descent, is alleged to have stabbed his three male roommates and then turned to a sorority on the UC Santa Barbara campus.

• For a "misogynist gun spree" there sure were a lot of male victims, stabbing deaths, and car injuries. But never mind that! We must focus on guns. Guns are the problem. This doesn't happen in China. In China mass murderers use knives. Is Rodger a new Candy Jones, another Monarch Butterfly?

Guns don't kill people. It's mostly the bullets.

There he killed another young man and two women. Rodger also struck several people with his car as he drove around Isla Vista shooting at people before ending his own life [the planned containment of all programmed shooters]. Shortly before his killing spree, Rodger posted a 137-page document detailing his life story and his motivation for the killings, as well a seven-minute YouTube video.

• AUDIO: Robyn Thomas and Katie McDonough
• AUDIO: entire program with host Sonali Kolhatkar

Rodger’s mother warned authorities about him after he began posting disturbing video earlier this year. But the young man managed to convince police that there was no reason to detain him.

Elliot Rodger has been linked with the so-called “Men’s Rights” movement. In his video and written “manifesto” he lamented being constantly sexually rejected by the white blonde women he was attracted to, and he resented men who enjoyed popularity with women. 

 

The killings have also prompted New York’s [opportunistic] Republican Congressman Peter King to call for enhanced background checks for gun sales. Richard Martinez, the grieving father of Christopher Michael-Martinez, who was among those murdered, made an impassioned plea at a press conference. More

GUESTS: Robyn Thomas, Executive Director of Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, based in San Francisco, Katie McDonough, assistant editor for Salon, focusing on politics, culture, and feminism. She wrote the commentary, “Elliot Rodger’s fatal menace: How toxic male entitlement devalues women’s and men’s lives.”

Commentary

General editorial consensus, Wisdom Quarterly

You a woman? (damnhangover.com)

Wait. Is Wisdom Quarterly opposed to guns or not? Opposed. We are opposed to ALL guns. But we are NOT anti-gun advocates.

Why, if you oppose all guns, are you not anti-gun?

When we as Americans finally advocate that guns be taken out of the hands of militant killers (police) and government agents (soldiers), we will say "no more guns." The anti-gun lobby, however, is part of the police state -- unwittingly so -- because all it asks for or demands in the wake of these very predictable incidents is that they be mandated out of the hands of citizens. What should be put in their place? "Give them more psych meds" seems to be the implicit answer. Dr. Drew (LovelineShow.com, May 27, 2014) was advocating forced institutionalization and forced drugging of anyone a psychiatrist says needs it. Is that the world we want? Should we bring back personality-numbing electroshock-therapy now in the nicer chemical guise?

College students return to class after UC Santa Barbara rampage (David McNew/SCPR.org)

 

"I do not perform for gender" (TOI)

Citizens are not the main problem. Authorized-criminals in uniforms and undercover are the main problem. Let's do something about that instead of using every sensationalized and possibly set up situation as the pretext to launch social media campaigns ("I'm a radical, I'm on Facebook!"), "hashtag activism," and Democratic gun-control drives. Look at Canada: full of guns and no where near the problem of anyone getting shot. Why? It's not the guns.

Misogyny (hating women) is a problem. Let's address that, not as the violent aberration of a young mental health patient but as the everyday garden variety violence of mostly "well adjusted" men and lots of women. When someone says or does something as outrageous as Rodger, it is said people rush to say, "Not all men." And that's true. But you know what? Yes all women. The oppression that is part and parcel of our society affects ALL females all day long, even jerks gems like Sarah "Caribou Barbie" Palin and FOX News' Ann Coulter, who contribute to the problem and oppression rather than advocating any viable solution.

 

SlutWalks across the USA and world

What are we doing in our daily lives? You don't have to be a Ukrainian FEMEN sextremist or Russian Pussy Rioter or Indian anti-rape bus striker (do you want a death penalty for rape out of revenge that replaces actually addressing the systemic problem?) or topped/topless American "SlutWalk" ("We know you aren't him") participant to do something. Male ally Hugo Schwyzer was no ally. There is a lot we can do, all women and all male allies. 

• SlutWalk protests against sexual violence go global (CNN, May 10, 2011... A statement by organizers of a forthcoming SlutWalk protest in London... According to the SlutWalk Toronto website, women have historically...
• SlutWalk marches sparked by Toronto remarks (BBC)

Topanga Days Hippie Fest (May 24-26)

Wisdom Quarterly; TopangaDays.com

Once a year, typically Memorial Day weekend in late May, a dance, contemporary crafts, performance art, and music festival is held to support the activities of the... in Hollywood's back yard. More

Coachella begins: Weekend 2, 2014 (video)

Eds., Wisdom Quarterly; YouTube/Coachella; Buzzfeed; 98.7; Randall Roberts (LA Times)

Coachella bikini-clad bhumi-devas go on display (Naomi Zeichner/buzzfeed.com)

Eat your hearts out as I do my best Miley acid... She's in the hospital OD'ing on antibiotics?

LA has a $10 alternative in Brokechella but, "Space is far out, man!" (alt987fm.com)

(Coachella) See highlights of Weekend 1. Fan photos. Watch VIDEO

  

Coachella is a one horse polo field in desert

It's a once-in-a-lifetime show like Woodstock '69, but it happens every year, twice. Never mind all that; it's Coac-hell-aaaaaaa! Get in the carpool, and shut up. Here we go again -- the lawn, the price gouging, the sun damage, and the wooooo!

Katy Perry in the audience

INDIO, California - As a giant impenetrable scrum of attendees waited for New Zealand singer Lorde, 17, to take the Outdoor stage at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, nearby, MGMT played the main stage, and the chorus of its song "The Youth" gusted in toward Lorde's crowd like a portent.
 
"The youth is starting to change," offered singer Andrew VanWyngarden as the band's psychedelic disco slow jam drifted in. "Are you starting to change? Are you, together?"

No one much smiles unless one holds up a camera or until the music whisks a concertgoer away for a moment in an overheated tent or a massive mosh pit (latimes.com).

When I was 17, Wknd 1

A few minutes later, as if conjured by MGMT's query, arrived Lorde. Dressed in white and seeming every bit a future figurehead, she took the stage just after the distant song had arrived at its ethereal ending mantra: "the youth… the youth… the youth." It felt like a clarion call.

• LINEUP: Celebs and Coachella set list
• PHOTOS: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3
• Visit Coachella Fest by air ($1,500)

Call it coincidence or a mystical accident of fate, but that moment on Saturday seemed to capture this year's festival for me: a musical event firmly listing away from past glory and toward a synthesized future. More

Locals left out when world comes to party
Josie Huang (KPCC/SCPR.org, April 18, 2014)

The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival has been a fixture in Indio [Spanish for "Indian"] for 15 years -- or, in the parlance of some city teenagers, “forever.” And that comes with perks and drawbacks. Big perk: The marching band at Indio’s Shadow Hills High School was invited to perform with the electronica duo Big Gigantic when the festival opened last weekend. More

Sobriety is one of the best things about Coachella Music and Arts Festival (buzzfeed.com)

After 100 Years of Solitude, then what?

• 100 Years of Solitude Latin author and icon Gabriel Garcia Marquez dies Thursday 
• Jay Z's "Made in America Fest" is coming to downtown Los Angeles
• Will rapper Jay Z ruin LA's Grand Park?
• VIDEO: Will Beyonce and Timberlake be there?
• Gas prices: Excuses made but oil companies getting richer
• Hey, slob, you should be as fit as me, Ivanka Trump
• "I love you," student texts mom from sinking South Korea ferry
• Official survivor in Korea hangs himself
• Gwyneth Paltrow is sad post conscious-decoupling
• Painting maybe tossed in trash after selling for millions
• Mother of brain-dead Jahi says daughter is "still sleeping"
• Pot-loving 420 Rally this weekend, but beware at airports
• John Oliver on the Luxurious "Freedom" of HBO, His Complicated Relationship With NYC 

Hollywood Reporter's 35 Most Powerful People in NY Media 2014



Taking L.A.'s traffic woes east into the desert

California Spring Break RIOT (video)

Seth Auberon and Ashley Wells, Wisdom Quarterly; TomoNewsUS  DELTOPIA

 

If they dare disobey, that's great. Riot on! (ES)

ISLA VISTA, Santa Barbara, California - It used to be fun to watch MTV's version of "Spring Break," but then one wakes up to the house party rather than the bikini-clad rap festival of our silly dreams. "It's The Man, it's The Man," you hear other colleges say, like UMass Amherst trying to worship Dionysus/St. Patrick. One never thinks the deadly projectiles, tear gas, and truncheons are going to rain down on people trying to enjoy the sunny coast. Mass arrests, mass incarceration, and we're the lucky ones!

Run! It's safer there with the sharks.

Imagine if we were partying while black. Imagine if we were surfing beyond the breakers? "Quick, shoot him! He might hurt himself!" Imagine if we reached down to pull up our baggy slacks. Imagine if agents of the police state were actively looking for a pretext/excuse. It might not be so funny. Still, what are 100 students doing in jail and many more waiting to be rounded up because of all the spy cams placed along the boardwalk and calls for citizen bystanders to turn in their neighbors with incriminating cellphone camera video. "Police overreacted," witnesses report. "They were looking for a riot to suppress. So they made one." [Everything looks like a nail to a man with a hammer. Every youthful gathering looks like a potential "riot" to paramilitary soldiers with batons, teargas, rifles, handguns, and impunity.]

"Now it is 1984. Knock-knock at your front door. It's the [sweaty] denim secret police. They have come for your uncool niece. Come quietly to the camp. You'd look nice as a..." - California Uber Alles.

Can I rape in prison?

• Sheriff's deputy convicted of rape sentenced to 9 years in prison ...Rigoberto [Self-Service] Sanchez. "A police officer is supposed to serve and... who pleaded no contest to one count of rape while under the color of authority and one count of soliciting a bribe, was sentenced to [only] nine years in state prison [for multiple felonies]. Los Angeles... 



But she was my inferior

• Army sex scandal: Gen. Sinclair gets a reprimand, asked to forfeit a little pay ...veteran of five combat tours had faced up to 25½ years in prison... Army agreed to dismiss charges.... If convicted on the most... reflective of a case that... lodged sexual assault charges that... between a junior officer and senior. 
• Former Long Beach police officer convicted of domestic violence ...counts of assault with a deadly... corporal injury to a spouse, assault by means likely to produce great [bodily harm]... was also convicted of several misdemeanors... Long Beach officer, repeatedly... choked on New Year’s... on Jan. 9 he hit her ... when he is sentenced Oct. 29...
• Fullerton, OC junior high teacher charged with molesting students
• LA teen accused of assault; Isla Vista "riot" followed (KEYT)

St. Patty parties in a Police State (video)

Pat Macpherson, Seven, Pfc. Sandoval, Wisdom Quarterly; Associated Press; Levin00

St. Patrick, wooo! Amherst, wooo! OH NO, the cops are shooting at us...Kent State!!

WARNING: Crass language, hooting, and college exploits by mostly underage drinking-revelers blowing off steam from their academic pursuits, a stressful economy, and Lent obligations! 
 

Knock it off, and get home to watch "Cosmos"!

What news stations called an "out of control riot" appeared much more like American college students doing what they typically do as they celebrate Dionysus in the guise of Saint Patrick -- followed by very aggressive police tactics. (See story below).
 

He's hurting my cold fingers! Hold him down by the face with your knee or boot, and punch him in the kidneys so he'll pee, while I cut off his circulation with these plastic zip cuffs (AP).

Future monument to rebel fighter Ernesto Che Guevara in Galway, Ireland. Che was part Latino and part Irish, a Son of Ireland with a rebellious spirit (thesundaytimes.co.uk).

Oh, h*ll no, not on my beat! Brothers, it's time for the Code of Silence. Let's get 'er done. There will be no partying on this college campus so close to the Feast of Saint Patrick (AP).

    

AMHERST, Massachusetts - The chaos at the University of Massachusetts over the weekend during a pre-St. Patrick's Day celebration brought new attention to an old problem affecting colleges across the country: How to deal with alcohol-fueled revelers during the March festivities.

Celebrations near the UMass campus in Amherst spiraled out of control Saturday as police dealt with thousands of drunken and unruly people during the annual "Blarney Blowout." More than 70 were arrested and four officers suffered minor injuries.

Like other colleges and towns, UMass and Amherst officials took action to try to prevent problems. The university warned students last week that there would be an increased police presence Saturday, and Amherst police prepared for large-scale disturbances...

The Party People gather for pre-St. Patrick's Day "Blarney Blowout" near the Univ. of Massachusetts in Amherst on Saturday, March 8, 2014. According to the Amherst Police Department, four coppers were slightly hurt as they beat back hundreds of unruly students who were throwing empty beer cans and plastic bottles at them as large college crowds gathered at an off-campus apartment complex (AP).

Irish Fest, Los Angeles (March 7-9)

Seven, Pat Macpherson, Amber Larson, Wisdom Quarterly; IrishFestAtFairplex.com

At the Fairplex in Pomona, northeastern Los Angeles County off the 10 Freeway

 

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day at Irish Fest

Escape the hustle and bustle of the week with a refreshing dive into the land of the Irish.

Visit our Irish Village and Pubs for an authentic Ireland fair experience.

Bring the kids; it's a family affair!

Stop for a spell at the Dublin and Killarney stages, and listen to the sounds of Irish rock bands, traditional Celtic music, and classic rock ’n roll. Grab a glass and a plateful of traditional Irish fare, and relax at one of our pub stations. Test the luck of the Irish at one of our contests with prizes galore.

 

Take the little ones into the Medieval Kids Castle, and watch them become knights. Make Irish crafts like Blarney Stones, Celtic knot bookmarks, and pots of gold. Learn to dance the Irish Stew, and speak a few Gaelic phrases. There is something fun for everyone, whether young or old or somewhere in between. Sláinte!

• FAIRPLEX: 1101 W. McKinley Ave.
• Pomona, L.A., California 91768
• $5 admission, $10 parking
• Friday, 6:00 pm - midnight
• Saturday, noon - midnight
• Sunday, noon - 6:00 pm
• Big Irish Fair and Music Fest: June 14-15
• How to see the Wee People or Fae