summer nights at the arboretum

If an evening at the Hollywood Bowl is part of your summertime ritual, then you'll love the Festival on the Green at the LA Arboretum in Arcadia.

During the summer months, the Cal Phil puts on a series of three to five themed performances here which start early evening and continue under the stars. You have the option of getting a table (and even a pre-catered meal), reserving lawn chairs, or purchasing the very inexpensive lawn seats where you can bring your own blanket and picnic and find a shady place under one of the beautiful old trees to lounge and enjoy. (Unlike the Bowl, you can have a lawn spot in the back and not feel like you're a million miles away from the action). The events are very well organized and staffed, and many also feature food vendor booths under white tents to tempt you with local treats.

This is one of the few places you can truly feel like you've escaped the city and can enjoy the outdoors. If you're lucky, the resident peacocks - amongst hundreds of other native birds - will join the chorus too :)

Tip: Check out Goldstar Events. They usually have some discounted tix for the series online.

301 N Baldwin Ave
Arcadia, CA 91007

(626) 821-4623

oh, the shame of it

as much as it pains me to admit this, i'm sad to see the oc go.

yeah, that's right. i tivo the oc. it's my guilty pleasure. aside from poking fun at the absurdities of teen angst and charmed life behind the orange curtain, its self-effacing wry sarcasm has some brilliant moments and you get some pretty darn good music to boot.

c'est la vie. good thing hbo's new season is starting to pick up.

speaking of things that pain me ... i put in a weenie 3-miler this week after a nearly nine month (and twenty pound) hiatus from running, and fuck me, i'm sore. i ran a marathon less than a year ago and now i'm struggling with a few miles? never mind my running shorts fit more like hot pants, even my shoes were tight. are you kidding me? my feet have gotten fat too?!

shame, shame, shame.

summertime

... and the living hasn't really been easy since we were fifteen, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't have a fabulous soundtrack to do your thing to. too little time to search out new music, dig thru your old faves and spend hours on track order for summertime mixes? thank yewknee for doing the heavy lifting for you...

otome sophiste is one of the best, breezy, bangin' urban mixes i've ever heard - anywhere. download the podcast and then drag all of the individual tracks into a new playlist for the mix to flow like it should. check out a change in the weather mixed by elastic heart, and summer romance mixed by porkhead. crack open a cold beer, sit back and enjoy!