Back from NYC and for the first time ever we feel relieved returning to LA’s  laid back milieu. And we note a palpable uptick in energy all over town. For example, we hear there’s much celebration in the Downtown LA offices of Truthdig as the Webby  Awards gave a nod to journalist Robert Scheer’s site for Best Political Blog - the jury prize -beating out The Huffington Post, The Atlantic, NY Times, The New Yorker and The Economist.  The list of nominees and winners chosen by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences represents the best content on the web.

We still don’t know what to make of LA’s Downtown Art Walk, part art school spectacle, part drunken Mardi Gras but it gets us out of Hollywood for an evening. And last night as we were going to throw in the towel and head to King Eddy joining the company of men who’ve given up on life, we stopped into ARTY Gallery to find Len(Leonardo)Aaron, 94, sitting among his ingratiating drip and splatter canvases all in very familiar looking frames. Turns out the painter is one of the founder’s of Aaron Brothers Art-Marts, California’s ubiquitous discount frame shops. He looks us over saying “you must be an artist. You have to look a little crazy to be an artist.” Most profound words we’d heard all night, so we elicited more from the man.

Read More

The
Art Walk, a monthly event regularly drawing a throng of thousands to the bum piss-slicked streets of Downtown LA. I’m liking it.