ICON 4×4′s 1968 Ford Bronco

Aaaaaaah, I want this! A design company in Los Angeles took it upon themselves to re-design the 1968 Ford Bronco, and boy did they do a bang up job. So pretty. Click here to learn more.

Stephany + Me

This is a short film starring my friend Ben Duhl. I had no idea he was even an actor, let alone such a good one! I loved it!! Such a cute little story. Take 10 minutes and have a look. You'll be happy you did.

Gayngs Featuring Har Mar Superstar - "One More Try"

This has long been one of my favorite George Michael songs–who I think is vastly underrated–and I've always sort of wanted to cover it, and that's exactly what fellow Minnesotan and current LA transplant Har Mar Superstar has done here along with Gayngs backing him up. Pretty nice version. Have a listen.

In The Summertime

For the 4th of July, we spent the day in Malibu with our friends Leilani and her boyfriend Neil. Leilani, Junna and I decided to ride beach cruisers down to the beach to watch the fireworks, and as we were riding, I so desperately wanted to have playing in the background this song by Mungo Jerry called "In The Summertime". Fortunately, Lei.Chan knew just what song I was referring to and was kind of enough to send me the track.

There's probably not another song better suited for a leisurely summertime bike ride. Have a listen.

[Thanks to My Shimoda]

Somewhere

Dear Sophia Coppola,

Why do you bother me so much? I suppose it's that you always seem to take things that I feel are near and dear to me and then feature them in your movies for all the world to see and hear and then I feel so very not unique. This time in a trailer less than two short minutes long you've managed to combine my favorite spot in LA as the setting for your entire film, the Chateau (although it's really been falling off recently, so maybe you can just have that) and a treasure of a song from Mr. Casablancas nearly in its entirety that was the opening track in Junna's birthday mix last year. I'm shocked you didn't cast Ben Foster in the lead role. I can only imagine what other nuggets you've mined from my life to exploit on the big screen for your own professional gain.

Sincerely,
Ryan

With all that said, I am still very much looking forward to seeing this movie, if for no other reason than to see Chateau Marmont in all her cinematic glory.

Vibrations And Color

Even though certain people will tell you FREECITY supershop is so passé (Fabian), I still think it's a cool and inspiring and really fun concept. I was reminded of this as I was flipping through an old issue of NYLON magazine and found a little piece they did on this sweet teepee FREECITY made for their second anniversary celebration art show titled TEXASTOKYO TOKYOTEXAS. It's composed of freshly cut bamboo and handmade silk-screens and takes its influence from Japan and Texas. Nina Garduno, who founded the Malibu store, said she was inspired by the Japanese phrase, "Ai-No-Neiro" which translates to "vibrations and color". I want one, please. Click here to read a pretty solid interview with Ms. Garduno.

Empty LA

I love this concept. A series of photographs of Los Angeles without any people in the image. Sort of like that scene from Vanilla Sky in Tom Cruise's dream where he drives through Times Square and it's completely empty and then does his signature Tom-Cruise-running-in-a-movie moment.

I'm not sure exactly how these photos were accomplished, but I assume they just made liberal use of Photoshop to remove any cars or people present.

These images are especially timely as Thanksgiving weekend is here and San Francisco is cleared out. One of my favorite things about the holidays – an empty city.

Click here for more, or to buy the book.

[Thanks to The Sassmouth Chronicles]

Julian Casablancas Live At Downtown Palace Theatre

I attended the first night of Julian Casablancas' November residency at the Downtown Palace Theater in Los Angeles this past Friday, and I was thoroughly impressed.

The set featured an ever-changing series of background scenes that alternated during and between songs, matching the tone and theme of every song they accompanied. The set list featured all the songs from Phrazes For The Young, as well as the bonus tracks you can get with the deluxe version, and a cover of The Strokes' single "You Only Live Once", with just Mr. Casablancas and a keyboard player. It was a pretty adorable performance, and Mr. Casablancas sort of laughed his way through it with the audience cheering him on and singing the one line they all seemed to know, "shut me up!"

There was a bit of an uproar when fellow Strokes members Fabrizio Moretti and Albert Hammond Jr. showed up in the balcony and proceeded to sign autographs and take pictures with anyone and everyone. Considering there have been reports of unrest amongst the Strokes band members, this might be a positive sign of some resolution. We can only hope.

My only criticism would be that the sound left something to be desired, both in that it was much, much too loud and the quality of the system was a bit amateur.

To see more pics, and read a review of the show, click here.

The Mae Shi Cover Miley Cyrus

The LA idiot s(avants) with a penchant for fabric softener (try ordering a T-shirt from them and you'll know what I mean) do a pretty hot cover of a pretty lame 'artist'. The last half gets really epic in a really awesome way.

California Moves on Bill to Curb Sprawl and Emissions

The measure, which the State Assembly passed on Monday and awaits final approval by the Senate, would be the nation’s most comprehensive effort to reduce sprawl. It would loosely tie tens of billions of dollars in state and federal transportation subsidies to cities’ and counties’ compliance with efforts to slow the inexorable increase in driving. The goal is to encourage housing near current development and to reduce commutes to work.

A Los Angeles Theater Is Renovated

On Saturday the Taper will reopen after a yearlong, $30 million renovation.

Starchitecture Maps of Los Angeles

A new guide to some of the city’s most interesting architecture has just been published by ForYourArt, an organization started by Bettina Korek to promote civic engagement with the arts in Los Angeles. Download the map here.

Not Necessary

Strokes guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. is on a mission to save young men from ill-fitting suits. “A lot of people hate suits, because when they fit terribly, they feel strange inside, like they’re going to a bar mitzvah and they’re 30,” he says, explaining why he’s going into the menswear business. His line of suits, designed with celeb stylist Ilaria Urbinati (who’s dressed James McAvoy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and the ladies of The L Word), will be for sale this fall at her store in L.A. “I want to make suits that I’m going to have for myself,” Hammond says. “They’re for the person who needs his one suit for a wedding. He’d rather get something like this than go to Men’s Wearhouse, pay the same amount, and look like an out-of-date parent.”

Downsizing in Los Angeles: Mansion to Condo

The ultraluxury condo market is a new trend in the sprawl of Los Angeles, where wealth and fame have usually spelled out “estate,” not apartment living. But real estate experts say a New York-style luxury high-rise lifestyle is creeping into the wealthiest echelons, fed by trends like people looking to own more than one home, foreigners drawn by the weak dollar to invest in Los Angeles, and new residential buildings being designed by celebrity architects.

American Air kicks off in-flight Internet service

AMR Corp's American Airlines began offering Internet access on long-haul domestic flights on Wednesday, making American the first U.S. airline to offer full in-flight broadband.

The world's largest airline said its passengers on Boeing 767-200 aircraft can pay $12.95 for Internet access on nonstop flights between New York and San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles, and New York and Miami.

Airlines have been racing to get reliable Internet access on their flights in hopes of gaining a competitive edge in the troubled airline industry. Other carriers like Southwest Airlines and JetBlue Airways have made strides in that direction.

Delta Air Lines Inc said this month it soon will start rolling out broadband Wi-Fi access for its entire domestic mainline fleet of more than 330 planes.

Experts have said they expect in-flight Internet to become common in the industry.

American's mobile broadband service, which is called Gogo, is provided by AirCell. Each Gogo session includes full Internet access. Cell phone and Voice over Internet Protocol are not available.

Vice Squad

L.A. is so warm and easy and greasy you can almost smell the balls the second you get out of the airport.

Cinema Tuesdays

L.A.’s Ricardo Montalbán Theatre is the latest hub for cerebral cinephiles and creative types.

Before Spike Jonze was as well known as Scorsese, indie-movie buffs relied on the curator Jonathan Wells for a who’s who of emerging film directors. Now, two years after Wells left his post as director of the beloved touring film festival RESFEST, cerebral cinephiles and Hollywood fat cats looking for tomorrow’s YouTube stars can learn from Wells yet again: his new multimedia jamboree, Cinema Tuesdays, a part of his ongoing Flux project with wife Meg, opens tomorrow in Los Angeles. The event kicks off at the Montálban theater with Aaron Rose’s tribute to so-out-it’s-in street culture, “Beautiful Losers.” At a time when film is so easily available online, Wells aims to make the event “experientially special,” including the artist Geoff McFetridge’s five-story mock-up of one of his wallpaper designs, the studio where L.A. high school kids get sneaker-design lessons from members of the Alleged gallery crew and rooftop performances by the “fourth Beastie Boy” Money Mark. If you can’t make it out west, catch the trailer below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyRAHKTy6hI

In Search of a Midnight Kiss

I'm hearing good things...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gM3P79oC9s