There are four million stories in the City of Angels (ten million in the County), and a bunch of them will be told at the 8th Annual L.A. Storytelling Festival. The Festival, which takes place on Saturday, November 14 at the Culver-Palms UMC Complex in Culver City, will feature stories, tales, concerts, workshops, and more.  Information about the Storytelling Festival, including the lineup of workshops, registration instructions, ticket prices, and directions, can be found at the event’s website here.

What’s the difference between a story and a tale?  Head to the Festival and find out!

Sigh.  Maine.  In a scenario all too familiar to those of us in California, gay marriage opponents currently are celebrating their successful drive to prohibit gay marriage via public vote in the Pine Tree State.  For those of you keeping count, that’s the 31st state in our Union to have the issue defeated at the polls.   Meanwhile, one year after the passage of Prop. 8, gay rights proponents will be meeting en masse tonight at the Vermont and Santa Monica Red Line station at 7.  There, Equality Network will host a Death to Discrimination March, led by a New Orleans-style funeral, headed due north to Sunset, then to The Black Cat/Le BarCito in Silver Lake, where a roster of series will rally the troops.  After an appropriate time for mourning and moving through the stages of grief, organizers plan to continue fighting the good fight (i.e., “Don’t mourn.  Organize.”), and hopefully, there will be some talk about education and de-clawing the anti-marriage coalition’s fear tactics.

It’s not over.

LADWP is offering its customers free landscape classes focused on using ideal vegetation for our climate. The California Friendly Landscape Workshop will show you how to choose the right plants and conserve water in Southern California.

Class sizes are limited, so you must RSVP immediately.

Virgina Masen's custom customization.

One of the most awkward things about being part of a minority is that you are at once the local spokesperson for the Minority, and the first person the Majority goes to for comfort.  For example, the day after Prop. 8 passed, I was sitting in my office, my little fit of depression tempered by a little relief that the American electorate actually went out of its way to make sure Mr. Obama won.  Someone walked into my office, and the first thing she said to me was: “No one should sit on the back of the bus!  No one.  Can we talk about this at lunch?  I’m really upset” and walked out.  I felt like I had been hit by a bus. And this is the response I had over a course of several days, from all sorts of people.  Well, better late than never.

The gay rights movement, like many minority groups, learned that in order to get things done, you really have to swallow your pride (that’s pride with a little p) and enlist the help of the majority group who sits in the positions of power and finally – finally – is sympathetic to your cause, is willing to gamble its political currency, and take the credit for it all once the goal is realized.  Enter FAIR (Freedom Action Inclusion Rights), an organization quickly organized after the passage of Prop. 8.  At FAIR’s request, Shepard Fairey created a poster intended to galvanize the movement as well as his Hope poster did for the MoveOn set.  The result is slightly more affecting than American Apparel’s retro, almost whimsically passive “Legalize Gay” tshirts:  his is a gnarled fist with the words “Defend Equality/Love Unites” above and below [insert snarky comment about his source material for the fist here].  You can buy shirts and the poster on FAIR’s website here (the politics of inclusion necessitates the politics of fundraising), but if you want to show all your gay friends that you really care, come out to Andaz in West Hollywood on November 12th.

Read about the Love Unites Shepard Fairey Equality Project after the jump

A little art never hurt anyone, not even Tom Bradley.

The LA Times just highlighted this study by a group called Priority Pass that lists LAX as the third worst airport – in the world, behind Heathrow in London and Charles de Gaulle in Paris.  I’m a bit skeptical – after all, this group is comprised of frequent business travelers who probably expect foot massages when they land.  Personally, I think there are other domestic airports that are worse (Houston’s comes to mind, and not because it’s in Texas).  Nonetheless, we all know that our home port could use a little (a lot) of improvement.  The airport has received over a billion recession dollars to improve and upgrade its facilities, and the LA Times has some ideas on how to use this money (some are blatantly silly, others are more serious).  My top gripes are after the jump.

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As the holiday season approaches and your calendar begins to overflow with festive party invites, we at Metblogs urge you to act responsibly, especially when it comes to alcohol consumption.

Our motto is: If you’re going to be making a merry mess of yourself all over town, please do us all a favor and go home with a stranger.

OK, maybe that’s not an official Metblogs motto, but it should be. The thing is, there are many alternatives to drinking and driving. You can take the Metro, call a taxi, hire a limo, appoint a designated driver, call a sober friend, call Alcoholics Anonymous. Still, with all of these options, so many of us will choose to get behind the wheel of our own car and drive home after a night of boozing. I am not proud to admit how many times I have done this in the past.

According to Y Drive, “The main reason people drink and drive is that they don’t want to leave their cars behind.”

Y Drive's Magic Folding Scooter

That’s why Y Drive came up with an innovative and affordable service that eliminates this factor altogether. When you call Y Drive, a professional driver will come to you on a folding scooter. For a flat fee of $38, the (more…)

Only two weeks ago the long planned Venice Skatepark finally opened. It’s been getting amazing reviews from locals and every time I’ve walked past it’s been packed with skaters of all ages and passers by of even more all ages. But there’s already trouble in paradise, Yo Venice! reports that the LAPD has informed the Venice Surf and Skate Association (who built the park) that they can no longer provide security when the park is closed, which has instantly resulted in the homeless population of the surrounding area moving into the park. The face value problems this poses are obvious, but on a larger scale this is the kind of thing that could cause the city to decide the park is more trouble than it’s worth a pull the plug on it. Yo Venice! explains how you can help. The park is really amazing and it would be a shame to lose it so quickly due to a few short sighted decisions. Image via Yo Venice!

It’s not like Bill Watterson coming out of the woodwork, but it’s somewhat close:  first uncelebrated, now celebrated  Robert Crumb is making a rare public appearance at UCLA’s Royce Hall on October 29.  He’ll be here to discuss his life’s work, up to and including his latest endeavor, The Book of Genesis.  This foray into John Milton territory recently was hailed as an “honest, powerful violent rendering of the Bible’s first book” by the Los Angeles Times this past Sunday.  Francoise Mouly will lead the discussion.  (Francoise Mouly is the former cartoon editor and current art director at The New Yorker, introduced readers to an excerpt of The Book of Genesis earlier this summer in the magazine, and, incidentally, is married to Maus author Art Spiegelman) (I mention this only because you can now rest assured that this appearance won’t be one of those Charlie Rose type ordeals in which the moderator has no relevant background or knowledge about the interview subject’s expertise and so verbally flails about during the interview that he appears, at best, like a sycophant and, at worst like a fanboy).  Tickets are $18 for UCLA students; for us out-of-school-ers, the cultural tuition fee is hiked up to somewhere between $36 to $60, depending on how close you need to get to the chalkboard.

For those who miss the talk, you don’t have to miss the art:  UCLA will host a related exhibit in the Hammer Museum.  “The Bible Illuminated: R. Crumb’s Book of Genesis” will be on view from October 24 to February 7.  For future reference, Thursdays are free!

MAFA "Featured Artist" Rouzanna Berberian

Art is the word in the SGV this weekend. Specifically FREE Art shows and receptions in Pasadena and Monrovia starting Friday night running through Sunday. Pasadena will kick it off with ARTNight on Friday and host its ARTWalk on Saturday.  Saturday is the first day of the Monrovia Association of Fine Arts (MAFA) 46th Annual “Celebrate the Arts” that runs all weekend.

The featured artist at this years Celebrate the Arts is Rouzanna Berberian. I’ve enjoyed her art since I saw her first exhibition a couple of years ago. She uses very bold, expressive brush strokes with equally powerful colors in her paintings to stir some deep emotional connections. She can be found in space 6 in Monrovia’s Library Park located in Old Town Monrovia at 312 S Myrtle Ave.

In conjunction with MAFA the folks at NuVein will be hosting a Comic Con at the Monrovia Library on Saturday only. Additionally NuVein has numerous musicians scheduled to play through out Old Town Monrovia as well as Library Park adding to the overall festivities of the weekend.

Both the Pasadena ARTWalk and the Celebrate the Arts will have numerous kid friendly venues where they can can learn about art as well as create their own art. (more…)

I’m still not convinced there even IS a future for journalism, at least not as we’ve known it (and heck I have a degree in it). Further, I won’t exactly miss what it’s become. But that’s not the point -

Should you wish to witness a spirited and entertaining discourse on this very subject, however, why not head out to The Warehouse in Marina Del Rey on Saturday, and catch The Lowdown?

Here’s what your host Jeff Norman has to say about it:

The Lowdown is a bold cultural revival fueled by unique collaborations between world-class artists, authors, activists and other public-spirited leaders. Presenters and performers connect the dots between media, government, national security, sustainability, psychology and the arts. By confronting disinformation, promoting civic engagement and having fun in the process, we help people cope with life in America.

The Warehouse Restaurant
4499 Admiralty Way
Marina del Rey, CA 90292
Hosted by JEFF NORMAN and featuring performances and a discussion with

music by I SEE HAWKS IN L.A. (Full set at 5 PM)
Author PETER RICHARDSON
Journalist ROBERT SCHEER
LA Weekly founder JAY LEVIN
Comedian ED CRASNICK
Musician-satirist GARY GORDON
Drinks and appetizers available – no minimum required.
Happy hour discounts from 5 to 6!
FREE admission
Seating is first come, first served.
The evening will conclude with a book sale and signing by Peter Richardson, author of A Bomb in Every Issue: How the Short, Unruly Life of Ramparts Magazine Changed America, hosted by Book Soup.

(Ow, my linking hand!)