Next month in the Mojave Desert is the annual “Rise” Lantern Festival. The gathering is a ritual like experience where attendees write personalized message inside of the burning lanterns before letting them go into the sky. According to the festival’s statements, each lantern takes two to three people to launch, thus making the experience very driven by community and sharing. Though it seems as if the event might somehow produce pollution, 98%-100% of the lanterns are said to be retrieved and are 100% biodegradable. Each vehicle is also equipped with a carbon offset. Rise’s message is very focused on giving people an ethereal experience while being completely sustainable. Tickets for RiSE Lantern Festival 2014 are available for purchase at...
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In July, a mysterious social network begin making it’s rounds online with little success. The platform named “Ello”, bearing a logo of nothing but a black, eyeless smiley face, was accepting members at a sluggish rate. But since July, Ello is picking up momentum, so much momentum that it’s receiving 4000 member requests per hour. That’s requests, not actual members, because Ello is invite only, much like facebook formerly being strictly for college use. By receiving your intial invitation, you can create an account, register an avatar, a cover photo, make posts, and do the normal social networking routine. However, Ello looks very different inside, and it might take a second to realize, there’s absolutely NO ads. Ello almost resembles the back end of a site that nobody sees, providing a more intimate environment for it’s users. With the new found Facebook controversy of drag queens being booted off for using aliases, and more privacy invading questions being asked, people are growing weary of exposing personal information time and time again. As a shift in popular social media is picking up speed, Ello is here at the right place right time. In light of seemingly endless privacy concerns such as recent celebrity cloud hacks, phishing scams, NSA privacy violations, and Facebooks increasing personal data collection + selling of info for advertising there of course was a niche carved out waiting for the ANTI facebook, which it boldly proclaims itself to be. The actual operation of Ello is in it’s beta stage, which is very apparent once you log in. Things are not nearly as intuitive as Facebook. but also they are vastly simpler. There are two categories, “Friends and Noise”, much like Google Plus Circles. The site is proclaimed to be invented by artists and designers, hence the extreme minimalism. As the first adopters are mostly artists, performers, creative types, and members of the LGBTQ community it’s clear Ello has a target demographic of sorts. Currently Ello has proclaimed is openness to NSFW content, something Facebook is not keen on, but simultaneously Tumblr very much is. In order to collect revenue and maintain the, a few dollars here and there can be spent in the future to customize your...
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Echo Park Lake is under fire once again after a 40 million dollar renovation, and a two year hiatus, less than a year after it’s reopening. Like many public spaces in Los Angeles, vendors of various goods have begun to set up shop in any location possible. Places with open areas such as public parks are the most susceptible, as it contains no roads, and draws a great deal of foot traffic. Though many residents have expressed support for the lower income vendors trying to make a living, many people who live closer to the park have taken an opposite stance. “My fiance and I live right on Park Ave. at Echo Park Lake and this has definitely been a major issue since the lake reopened. We agree that vendors should be allowed to come and make an honest income but over the summer the explosion of vendors has become too much since there is no regulation. It is not uncommon to see 6-8 vendors circling the children’s playground – making it difficult for parents to monitor their children while they play. One vendor even brings two shetland ponies and offers children rides at a cost. The ponies eat the grass and defecate close to areas where food is prepared and children are playing. its disgusting and very unsafe.” From Pony rides, to un-refrigerated goods being prepared on top of shopping carts, there seems to be no regulations in place. However, many residents, patrons, and families are seeking help from the city, who put so much into fixing the park to keep it regulated. As of late, there was a proposed ordinance in place, but has been rejected. As of late there is no regulation enforcement and the issue is being sent o city...
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Los Angeles is getting more bike friendly than ever before. Cyclists are being given a three foot buffer zone legally or drivers could face penalties if seen breaking the law. Over the last few years road rage incidents, and bike to car accidents have risen, despite the 200 miles of new bike lanes painted in. Road rage is no foreign concept to any angelino, as many police reports, sometimes upwards in the thousands, involve some element of road rage, reckless driving, and overall carelessness behind the wheel. The new law involves a $120 fine for crossing that buffer zone and endangering cyclists. In 2012 more than 150 cyclists lost there lives in auto related accidents, prompting further action state wide. Localized action took place beginning with the “every lane is a bike lane” slogan. The new law is already in effect and will enforced strictly. Automobile Commuters and cyclists must learn even more to share the road as bicycles are considered vehicles with the same rights, rules, and regulations as a normal...
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Many of LA’s restaraunts are staffed to the neck with aspiring actors and musicians. In fact, it’s not all that uncommon to hear the nervous phrase “you’re not an actor right?” in a job interview. Director Jake Wilson (You Must Be Joking, The Battery’s Down) and producer Kate Pazakis have teamed up on performance series entitled 90027. Alternating between live theatrical Performances, and pre recorded scenes, the series offers a multi media night of entertainment revolving on the wait staff of Los Feliz’s Rockwell Table and Stage. The show is considered 18+, and begins it’s run Oct 9th at 8PM and Oct 12 at 7pm. Both events will be held at The Rockwell Table and Stage. 1714 N. Vermont Ave.Los Angeles, CA 90027 . Tickets can be obtained at The Rockwell Site or by phone...
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