Much like the bell curve, there is a drinking curve, divided into six stages: teetotalers, social drinkers, business owners, people who drink too much, writers, and finally, alcoholics. Although most people will spend their life hovering somewhere between being a social drinker and someone who drinks too much, a few rare individuals go all the way, and end up abstaining completely, or lying motionless on a slab. Read the whole story »

by Tracy Cruz
photos by Nikki DeVries

Despite the downpour of rain the previous night and morning of the event, the Echo Park Art Walk went on as scheduled with a few minor adjustments due to weather constraints.

Art enthusiasts, friends, families and pets roamed the streets of Echo Park Avenue – Sunset Boulevard to Champlain Terrace as boutique shops, galleries and neighborhood venues opened their doors to welcome all. My adventure started at Feeding Birds Boutique who had suffered a mild flood from the rain but kept on trucking throughout the day. Equipped with a live guitarist and offering special discounts as well as freshly baked cookies to all patrons it was a great place to begin my day. Vintage glassware, jewelry and casual threads filled the store and drew quite a crowd especially with the Calbi Truck right out front cooking up their delicious street tacos and burritos served up with a splash of asian flair. I couldn’t resist and ordered two scrumptious morsels washed them down with a diet coke and went on my way to my next stop. (With all the LA food truck craze, I decided to embark on my first experience of true street food and there’s no wonder why they draw such crowds…it was deeeelish!) Read the whole story »

by Tracy Cruz
photos by Nancy Accomando

The C.A.V.E is one of my favorite westside hang outs for great art in LA, not to mention that gallery owners Patrick (& Tanya) are some of the nicest people I’ve met in the scene. The place was packed – umbrellas in hand, warms coats and hats and wooden paintings galore. With a drink to warm up both my innards and outs I checked out the exhibit oozing with dj spinning beats and a live painter doing his thing. Read the whole story »

“Everything exists as a reason for us and the talented people we know to make visually driven shorts,” -Danny Jelinek, Co-Creator. Read the whole story »

I was first exposed to the Glass House in a lecture hall in 2001. A few weeks earlier, the twin towers had collapsed, and along with it, the old frontier sense of impermeability. A black and white slide of the Glass House clicked into view, and I felt an overpowering sense of relief, as if everything we had collectively lost was somehow preserved by that structure: the gracefulness of transparency. Read the whole story »