Check It. The Shop at The Standard [Guest Post].

If you can tear yourself away from the magic of the Quiksilver vending machines at The Standard Downtown’s rooftop pool for a moment, you will notice the recently made over The Shop around the corner in the lobby. The psychedelic life-size jewelry box of a store shares space with Rudy’s Barber Shop and is now carrying a slew of designer goods for your getaway and/or staycation needs.

A toasting party was held the other night with mini trunk shows displaying limited edition Clare Vivier handbags (designed specifically for The Shop), Paul Frank sunglasses, paint-it-yourself TOMS Shoes and Livity hats to brave the UV in LA. Guests noshed on tasty nibbles, like hempseed brownies with salty caramel and sipped Milton Gladlys (apple honey infused vodka with sparkling water) while DJ Valida made some jams.

Labor Day staycation, anyone?

The Shop at The Standard is located at 550 S. Flower St. in downtown.

-- Nairi Najarian

Photo credit: Melissa Manning/The Look Partnership

Drink It. Intelligentsia Pasadena [Guest Post].

Three years and one summer after breaking bean in Silver Lake and Venice, Intelligentsia, the couture coffee clubhouse hailing from Chicago, flew into Old Town Pasadena on its famous brewshtick with a shoulder-bumping grand opening party earlier this month.

The 73-seat lofty-aired space, with alley and sidewalk entrance, houses communal tables, church pews, wide open street side windows and electric blue walls perfect for a quick java fix or a sit-down lunch with small plates served up via chef Matthew Poley of Heirloom LA. The double bar is manned with primly trimmed and ‘stached baristas who’ll soon be slinging a different kind of brew in addition to the house blend: Los Feliz's Covell Bar GM Matthew Kaner will offer up a selection of wines and beers for the tap happy. Nummy pastries a la Bottega Louie and Cake Monkey Bakery are served daily, in addition to talks of Poley filtering in grilled cheese nights and a whole pig roast.

Beyond the bustling G.O. party (which had a line wrapped around the back alley), it’s been a quiet stream of laptop laden studs, modelesque espresso sippers, a woman dictating a script to the mysterious caller and the occasional hipster in for a routine inspection. All in all, just your average cuppa joes.

*A sweet treat must-try: Chocolate Locket Cookies Chocolate sable cookies (courtesy of Cake Monkey Bakery) are filled with house made caramel and sprinkled with Fleur de Sel. Life changing.

-- Nairi Najarian

Photo credit: Intelligentsia

Check It. Mika's "Kick-Ass" music video [Guest Post].

The patron saint for lost boys and girls (who want to stay lost) assembles yet another dance-youth anthem, this time with GaGa’s RedOne tucked into his shiny tailcoat pocket.

Curly locked pop-sensation Mika helms the title-track and the promotional buzz for upcoming super-hero comedy flick Kick-Ass, due out in theaters April 16. The music video premiered yesterday and is making its way through the blog circuit faster than a speeding bullet. After all, this is a superhero movie...or is it?

The cast of pimple-faced pseudo-heroes is led by relative newbie Aaron Johnson (The Illusionist) and Christopher Mintz-Plasse (McLovin’ to us). These crimefighters opt for DIY-costumes and goofy theatrics, but are on that noble quest to achieve what every nerd dreams of–chicks. You’ll find yourself wondering why Nicolas Cage is in this movie, and why his ass isn’t the one being kicked. It's a mystery that looms overhead like a Bat Signal with a blown fuse, so while I go solve that crime against cinema, enjoy "Kick-Ass."

--Nairi Najarian

Check It. Paper Birds [Guest Post].

We here at the BEAT realize that great writers must always appreciate other great writers. Today we feature a guest post by our talented colleague, Nairi Najarian.
Time. The chase for more hours, minutes, seconds in a day never ends. Never allows for satisfaction with what we've accomplished, always leaves us pining for just another moment. We are the White Rabbits, and Time, well, still the Crocodile. In this Wonderland, the caterpillar no longer asks of us "Who are you?", it is the Facebook who now beckons, "What's on your mind?" No more the mirror-images of Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum, than our Twitter twins calling for a re-tweet 140 characters long.

Nikon Festival's "A Day through your Lens" also wants a 140 out of you. A 140 second status update of your day. A live-action tweet. A minute and twenty to tell the world "What's happening." And the top prize for the winning lenscrafter? A cool $100,000. The Office's Rainn Wilson is a judge.

With the stunning "Paper Birds," finalists Shoushan Tavlian and David Falossi accomplish something the other films do not. Something even we, in our everyday, desperately wish to do.

Slow time down.

The daunting prospect of an assigned limit to the film is instantly forgotten upon hearing the first gorgeous aches of the piano. The world created is poignant with colors, music, places and a lovely girl existing in it all. Even when the viewer is transported into the cacophony of nameless streets, cars and pavement, the elegant thread with which our lovely girl bids us to follow is still trailing ever so delicately through the lens. The film auteurs weave us a patchwork of moments leading into moments. A fabric innocent of schedules, appointments and deadlines. A fabric of...time... equal to what we most revere in art, and that's timelessness.

Watch "Paper Birds" and other 140 intervals of time here, and don't forget to vote for your favorite.

-- Nairi Najarian
Nairi is writing amok over at Fête Cheese.