Bravely dipping a pen in the ink of his own soul, Pickett’s novels chart a winding path from divorced, struggling writer in the throes of an existential crises, to celebrated author.

Men suck. Well, not all men, but too many. All it takes is one look on the television or one listen to the radio to realize the accuracy of this statement. I’m not sure when exactly in the history of civilization men decided to become complete d-bags, or if they perhaps just “evolved” that way. All I know is, male behavior toward women has progressively become more and more derogatory. Long gone are the days of Ricky loving Lucy or The Beach Boys serenading sweethearts across America. No Ma’am, what we have on our hands now is one giant Petri dish brimming with bigoted, arrogant, chauvinistic specimens.

On August 7th, Downtown L.A.’s The Hive Gallery threw another shindig, and I, as a patron of the arts, made it my absolute duty to attend. This time, it was their third-annual “Bee-Rotica” show with “Erotrospective: The Best of Bluegirl.” Sounds pretty titillating, right?

I always jump at the chance to go to the Hive because I know that they can put on a killer opening, and this night didn’t disappoint. On Saturday, July 3rd, The Hive Gallery hosted a group show featuring the work of Van Saro, Leyla Akdogan, L. Croskey, Jun Duras, Gaia Bracco, and Charles Swenson as well as their 26 resident artists. With so much art and the promise of live shows and burlesque dancers, how can you not have a good time?

With the anniversary of the birth of our nation this past weekend, it is the perfect time for Americans to pause and reflect on what those early days as a country must have been like when there were no such things as the iPhone, or the internet, or even the automobile. A world void of technology may be scary to some; I mean how would we communicate and get around from one place to the other? Well, unlike many Americans including Angelenos who harbor a strong dependence on the beloved motor vehicle, a large number of Parisians have captured a piece of a simpler time and place by using bicycles as the primary mode of transportation. Even in this advanced day and age, the French have found a very basic way to master transportation that is healthier not only for the human race, but the environment. Not only that, but they manage to make riding bikes look sexy at the same time! Luckily Gil Garcetti went abroad to Paris to shoot these beauties in action, obtaining clear proof that cruising in a convertible Porsche is not the only way to look cool when going to the grocery store. The beauties in this case are not so much the actual bikes, but the people riding them—French women. I’m sure French men on bikes are photogenic too but Garcetti focuses on the women as they seem to posses something extra special, a kind of air it seems. One trip to the Annenberg Community Beach House where the exhibit is on display will give you a better picture, literally.