Play ball! The 2011 season of Major League Baseball is kicking off here in Los Angeles in just a month (!) on March 31, with the Dodgers' opening day against those dirty rivals, the San Francisco Giants. And even if you didn't splurge for season tickets, single game tickets for all season are now available. Check out the schedule here, and start counting down the days 'til you're scarfing down Dodger Dogs and just enjoying a beautiful game at the ballpark.
Sometimes morning coffee at home is the simplest, most satisfying, and overall best way to start the week.
Heading out to the desert for a film noir festival sounds like an excellent quick weekend getaway.
Fashion Week has come and gone, and now it's time to buy, buy, buy. One of my longtime favorite designers is Jeremy Scott, and this year, he's done a beautiful thing: offer me something I can actually afford!
Beverly Hills' Gagosian Gallery has an exciting new exhibition: "Unfinished", by James Franco and Gus Van Sant. Between acting in several films a year, going to graduate school, and co-hosting the Oscars, it's impressive Franco has time for anything else at all--let alone an awesome art show.
Okay, we're not really telling you to eat out with 30 burgers in 30 days. That would be pretty crazy. But LA Weekly's Elina Shatkin has taken on such a challenge -- or at least is writing about it in that amount of time. More than halfway through, she's already proven all the awesome burger options L.A. has to offer, from the well-known Counter and Apple Pan to a spot in Koreatown.
The classic white bean hummus dip. This is another easy recipe that is incredibly quick and tasty.
The gorgeous oat clusters pictured above were a Friday experiment of mine. I saw the recipe on ReadyMade magazine, and had been looking for a healthy snack to take to work.
Technology and culture in the world today have a lot to thank Steve Jobs for. If you're reading this blog on an iPhone, iPad or Mac, or you've been listening to tunes on your iPod or iTunes all day, you really have a lot to thank him for. And even if you don't own any Apple product, the influence Jobs has had on the world of fast-moving, innovative technology is undeniable.
It's almost five o'clock, and today is National Margarita Day 2011.
I'm a big fan of GOOD magazine, a publication aimed at finding the, well, good things in the world and solutions to problems within society. And it just so happens that they're focusing their next issue on us: Los Angeles.
Happy Presidents' Day!
When I spotted Chef Ludo Lefebvre's truck on Melrose Avenue on Saturday morning, I knew we had to stop. Having never been to this particular food truck before--nor any of the super popular Ludo Bites pop up spots, there was no way I'd pass up the opportunity when lunchtime was approaching.
Jonathan Gold named Ludo's fried chicken one of the 99 things you should eat in L.A. before you die. Is it really that good? In a word, yes.
Everyday one of my Swiss coworkers brings this to work as breakfast, and I finally sampled and made my own. The results: delicious!
I've talked about my admiration for the work of artist David Choe here on the BEAT before, and if you so happened to have sadly missed that show, you've got another chance to see Choe's work in person.
Florence and the Machine is a band I'd like to get more into, so I'm thinking of going to this show even though it's on a Monday night. 
We here at the BEAT are big public broadcasting fans, and it's no wonder, considering L.A. has so many great public broadcasting offerings, from KCRW to KPCC to NPR and PBS. But right now there's some legislation about to hit Congress that really threatens the government funding for public broadcasting across the country, and therefore, its survival.
Finding a reliable place for a decent manicure is no easy task. Yesterday evening, after just over a week of dark (when in New York ... ) nails, I wanted it off, and a fresh application of a more comfortable pretty pale pink. 
Remnants of Americana culture sounds like something few and far between to the rest of the Los Angeles County, but look no further -- aside from the all-American ice cream shoppe, the local grocer has still survived the test of time.
Well, they've done it again. Besides being quite arguably one of the best bands in the world, Radiohead has really taken the cake in turning the music industry on top of its head. First, there was the pay-what-you-want model for In Rainbows. And now it's the "newspaper album" The King of Limbs, which is offering fans a collectible product and a wholly worthwhile reason to buy music again.
Happy Valentine's Day, readers!
If you're looking for something to read to give you that warm, fuzzy feeling on The Day of Love, I have read no book that makes me that happy feeling more then "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran Foer.
I never did pick up the first issue of Slake, but I just may get Volume 2. Plus their current cover goes along with our apparent black and white theme of the day.
Simply said, there will never be another Beatles. There will never be another Beatlemania (don't be fooled by the Bieber Fever), there will never be another Lennon/McCartney. And so we must cherish that which it was.
Until the end of February, LACMA will be hosting a series of movies starring Jane Fonda, including "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?," "Coming Home," "Barefoot in the Park," "On Golden Pond," and "Julia."
You either hate Valentine's Day or you love it. The Arclight is letting you celebrate both, through film, of course. Check out special series this weekend that'll surely satisfy you whichever way you feel:
The Decemberists are playing the Wiltern this Saturday night. I've seen them a few times, and can confirm they put on a good show. This one's sold out, but there are plenty of listings on Craigslist, and I imagine some scalpers will be outside the venue.
A couple months ago, I posted about the amazingly fun public radio show Radiolab, a sort of science and philosophy sibling of This American Life. If you've already become a hardcore fan like I have (and if you haven't -- start listening now!), then it's time to get your wallets out!
We like a good vegetarian restaurant here at the BEAT--even though we're not all vegetarians! Veggie Grill is actually vegan (Kind Diet friendly) and really delicious. Their Grillin' Chickin' sandwich (with avocado, tomato, red onion, cilantro pesto, and chipotle ranch on a wheat roll) and seasoned "Sweetheart" sweet potato fries are my favorites, and they have a good bean chili too.
I'd been wanting to try the Farmers Market Lotería for a long time, and finally did on Wednesday night for a colleague's going-away party. I had a potato and cheese quesadilla and cantaloupe agua fresca. And then I went back for lunch on Thursday and got shredded beef tacos (photo above). It's so fresh and flavorful--really great Mexican food. The setting is open-air and really casual, perfect for meeting friends after work or for a quick lunch alone.
Happy Year of the Rabbit/Cat! I'm Vietnamese (and for us, it's the year of the cat, while for the Chinese it's the year of the rabbit), which means my family and I celebrated the Lunar New Year this week. It's a pretty fun event full of family, food and money, with a lot of hopeful and optimistic thinking for the upcoming year.
So apparently Feb. 5th is Pisco Sour Day in Peru. As if you needed an excuse. But here's another: Discover Pisco is giving away coupons for a complimentary Gran Sierpe pisco sour at participating L.A. restaurants Red Medicine, Big Bar at Alcove, Buffalo Club and Rivera. Enjoy! The pisco sour is basically considered the iconic cocktail for Peru and Chile, and pisco happens to be one of Lauren's favorites.
Last fall, 100 years after Mark Twain's death, the first of three volumes of his complete and unexpurgated autobiography was released, and immediately became a smash hit.
We enjoy some time in the kitchen here at 'the BEAT' - and part of cooking being fun is having the right tools. Some quality brands can get pricey, but Martha Stewart's line is classic, chic, and affordable.
If you've ever thought in-depth about where the food we eat comes from and why, and considered how the industrialization of the food industry has affected people's health and the environment, you've probably been influenced in part by either Michael Pollan or Eric Schlosser. Pollan is the author of In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto, primarily writing about food in its natural state, and how food and culture intersect. Schlosser is the author of Fast Food Nation, which went behind the scenes of how food is processed for wider consumption.
The same editors who brought us such headlines as "Rich Guy Feeling Left Out of Recession," and Kim Jong-Il Privately Doubting He's Crazy Enough To Run North Korea" are scheduled to appear at a UCLAlive event next Thursday.
Who hasn't ever wanted to read someone else's diary? A journal can be the most honest and revealing portrait of one's self, a keeper of secrets and unexpressed thoughts, a trough of memories.
