Hello Kitty

Jennifer Klausner: The Pedal Pusher

One of the fascinating Angelenos featured in L.A. Weekly's People 2013 issue. Check out our entire People 2013 issue here.The first time Jennifer Klausner spoke up on behalf of bikes was at a Santa Monica City Council meeting in the early '90s. It was also the first time the avid cyclist and star me ... More >>

Ultra 2013: Best Inflatable Animals and Blow-Up Dolls

Ultra Music Festival is a zoo. From land sharks to killer whales, pink flamingos to African zebras, UMF 2013 is starting to feel a lot like a World Wildlife Foundation fundraiser, complete with endangered species and cuddly critters. See also: The 13 Most Hardcore Ravers at Ultra, as GIFs Attenti ... More >>

Eating Hot Foods in Plastic Bowls May Pose Health Hazard

That Hello Kitty bowl may be adorable, but plastic dishware appears to be a very bad idea healthwise. A new report in the Journal of the American Medical Assn. finds that eating hot food from melamine bowls can expose you to high amounts of melamine, according to Fox News. Melamine is toxic crap ... More >>

10 Political Things to Do in L.A. Before (and After) the Election

This year's election has the public voting for everyone from Roseanne Barr to Hello Kitty, with Mitt Romney's Binders of Women the projected costume-winner for Halloween. While the 2012 presidential election is the biggest reason people are hitting the polls, we all know that local campaigns can be ... More >>

Domo: From Japanese TV Mascot to International Superstar

One of the most curious icons of the early 21st century is Domo. A large, brown creature with a wide open mouth stuck somewhere between a growl and a guffaw, Domo is the mascot for Japan's public television station, NHK. He came to life in a television spot back in 1998 and, by 2004, had appeared in ... More >>

Free Frozen Yogurt at Universal Citywalk Tomorrow Hello Kitty

Love Hello Kitty? Love Froyo? Then you'll probably be as giddy as a preteen Japanese schoolgirl to discover that Yogurtland has paired up with Sanrio to debut their line of co-brand merchandise set for release beginning tomorrow through Labor Day weekend. All your favorite characters -- Hello Kitty, ... More >>

Royal/T to Close: Top 5 Memorable Events at the Culver City Maid Cafe

Royal/T is preparing to close its Culver City digs. The popular restaurant/art gallery cultivated a unique vibe with a staff dressed in costumes inspired by Japanese maid cafes and a variety of unusual events. While the physical location is closing, there's more in store for the popular local brand. ... More >>

National Anthem Auditions - Dodger Stadium - 3/31/12

National Anthem Auditions Dodger Stadium 3/31/12 Better than...having to listen to me sing the national anthem. The "Star Spangled Banner" is a notoriously difficult song to sing. Its one and a half octave range of chest-pounding passion has stumped many singers. Nonetheless last Saturday, for the ... More >>

10 Awesome Tattoo Artists in L.A.

When it comes to tattooing, we are fortunate to have an enormous wealth of talent in Los Angeles. Though tattoo culture erupted in mainstream popularity several years ago it was a vital part of L.A. long before that and remains so today. There are artists in every corner of the city, with faithful c ... More >>

Locals Unite for 1-Year Anniversary of Tsunami In Japan

It's been one year since the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan. In recent weeks, restaurants around town offered sake specials, discounts, raised funds and much more. On March 10, public appreciation event Japan Endless Discovery at the Grove, organized by the Consulate-General of Japan in ... More >>

Sake Fuels Japan's Recovery A Few Local Events

This weekend marks the one-year anniversary of the March 11 catastrophic earthquake and tsunami that so terribly damaged Japan. Food-safety issues and scares -- particularly around the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor -- remain in the news. Although Japan's traditional sake brewers were h ... More >>

Trader Joe's Cookie Butter, aka Speculoos, is Back!

ProfessorSalt.comTrader Joe's Cookie Butter, before they ran out last year​If you've never experienced the creamy, crackalicious wonder that is Trader Joe's Cookie Butter, it might be because the shipment they imported late last year caught on like wildfire. They've been sold out since before ... More >>

Spend Valentine's Day With Hello Kitty, at Hooters Japan

Headed to Japan this week? Hooters Tokyo location is offering a Valentine's Day special through next Tuesday: Two promotional ice cream desserts called the Volcano of Love and the Rock of Love, and the first 1,000 customers to order either will get a collector's edition pin of Hello Kitty as a Hoote ... More >>

Funkiest Dish West of the 405: Moo Moo Thai's Yen Ta Fo

Did your new year's resolution involve sampling strange cuisine from across the city? If you're the type who scours the San Gabriel Valley like a Sichuan-studded Star Map or can quickly rattle off every birrieria in the barrio then probably not. But if you're perpetually stuck in a quaint Westside f ... More >>

Top 11 Fashion Trends of 2011

Lina Lecaro ​The barrage of blogs tallying the year in trends and fashion has begun, and of course, we are totally participating. We do it every year, after all. And while we try to note the obvious, we also strive to call out the stuff you're not likely to see on the other blogs, stuff we no ... More >>

Best of the Cons, Part 2: The Top Southern California Conventions of 2011

Shannon CottrellHatsune Miku in concert at Anime Expo​ Read more in "Best of the Cons Part 1: 8 Standout TV Shows, Cosplays, Games and More from 2011." Is Southern California the land of the superfan? Maybe. At the very least, it's the land of the fan conventions. Trying to hit up ever con in ... More >>

Zedd - Dim Mak Sunday - 11-27-11

Zedd Dim Mak Sundays 11-27-11 Better than... bottle service. Last summer, Zedd hit L.A. to warm up the crowd when Deadmau5's Meowingtons Hax tour hit the Palladium for a few sold-out nights. He returned to the city last night as a headliner for his own mini tour, supporting the single "Stars Come ... More >>

Best of the Cons Part 1: 8 Standout TV Shows, Cosplays, Games and More from 2011

There are still a few more conventions left for 2011, but it's not too early to begin the countdown of the best of the superfan scene. This week, I'm counting down a few of the most popular trends spotted at conventions this year. This list avoids perennial favorites (i.e. Star Wars, Star Trek and D ... More >>

Hatsune Miku Live Party 2011 - Rave 18 Movie Theater - 11/10/11

Hatsune Miku in Hatsune Miku Live Party 2011 39's Live in Sapporo​See also: *Hatsune Miku: Her Best Fan-Generated Videos *Live review of Hatsune Miku in Los Angeles *More photos of Hatsune Miku live in L.A. *Hatsune Miku/Hello Kitty collaboration, Miku-Kitty, appears at Anime Expo. *Local musi ... More >>

Hatsune Miku: Her Best Fan-Generated Videos

Shannon CottrellHatsune Miku on stage in Los Angeles​See also: *Live review of Hatsune Miku in Los Angeles *More photos of Hatsune Miku live in L.A. *Hatsune Miku/Hello Kitty collaboration, Miku-Kitty, appears at Anime Expo. *Local musicians Stephanie Yanez and Polo collaborate with Hatsune Mi ... More >>

Punk Rock Dads: Fuck The World? Nah, "For The Wee-ones"

​Forget about the brutality of slam pits, the relentless touring, and the struggle to maintain a viable career in a collapsing music industry. The scariest, most challenging endeavor many punk musicians have is raising a family. In the new documentary The Other F Word -- premiering tomorrow n ... More >>

What Will Be The Most Popular Music-Related Halloween Costumes This Year? And How Can They Be Made Slutty?

​By Lina Lecaro and Andrea Domanick Nothing is a more fun cultural zeitgeist indicator than what folks wear for Halloween. And, of course, musical personalities are prime fodder. So here are our predictions for what will be the most common music costumes this year. Of course, despite the fa ... More >>

OnchMovement Pop-Up Shop, Perfectasy, Opens at Royal/T on August 4

Shannon CottrellOnch​"Hello Kitty is still cute. Barbie is still flawless and gorgeous," says jewelry designer Onch, "but, I think that OnchMovement should be the next cute thing. Hopefully, OnchMovement is the cute now." Onch, a former contestant on Paris Hilton's My New BFF (and Hilton's "l ... More >>

Sally Lohan, Trend Forecaster, Finding the Pulse of L.A. Style

Simone Legno of tokidoki: Italian-Japanese Fusion

Miku-Kitty Brings Together Virtual Singer Hatsune Miku and Hello Kitty (Updated with Photos of Miku-Kitty)

Shannon Cottrell​See more photos in Shannon Cottrell's gallery, "Anime Expo 2011: Day One, Friday." Updated with photos of Miku-Kitty on Page 2. First published 7/02/11 at 7:36 a.m. Hatsune Miku fans were not left disappointed after spending Friday afternoon in line for the Miku Keynote pres ... More >>

30 Scoops in 30 Days: Mikawaya (Day 6)

For all its variegated culinary charms, there's one thing downtown Los Angeles, with its ramen and sushi and burgers and coffee and cupcakes and cocktails, doesn't have much of: ice cream. Sure, you can find a couple ho-hum ice cream stands in the Grand Central Market. Syrup Desserts at 6th and Sp ... More >>

Yoshiki: The Kei Master

The Music PEOPLE: Who made it into LA Weekly's 2011 PEOPLE Issue?

Kevin ScanlonJ*Davey​Los Angeles is for music lovers. We could have chosen enough characters just from L.A.'s music scene to fill the entire PEOPLE Issue, but there are too many fascinating folks in L.A. for us to hog all the space. Here's who made our list his year:

Chubby Bunny: Michelle Nguyen's Bows Were All the Rage with Sanrio, Now She's Launching Her New Collection at JapanLA

Shannon CottrellMichelle Nguyen of Chubby Bunny​See more photos in Shannon Cottrell's gallery "Peek Inside Michelle Nguyen's Latest Chubby Bunny Hair Accessories Collection." Saturday night at Melrose Ave. shop JapanLA, Michelle Nguyen will debut her latest Chubby Bunny accessories collection ... More >>

Godzilla Would Be Proud

Stage Raw: The Sonneteer

NEW THEATER REVIEWSSTAGE FEATURE ANNOUNCING THEATER AWARDS NOMINEESNEW REVIEW GO THE SONNETEER ​Photo by Katie Pomerantz Nick Salamone's play examines the ways in which homophobia, guilt, self-delusion and hypocrisy cause the gradual disintegration of the Cardamones, a first-generation Italian-A ... More >>

Did Lady Gaga Sell Out in 2010?

Markus Klinko & Indrani for Hello Kitty!Did Gaga sell out her progressive causes?​ By Liz Brown Theatrical dance-pop performer Lady Gaga skyrocketed to international relevance upon release of 2008's "Just Dance"; the record from which it came, The Fame, broke a record for the number of conse ... More >>

2010's Top 10 Fashion Trends In LA: Tranimals, Feathered Femmes, Wonderland Wares, And More

Lina LecaroWe Heart 2010 Fashion. Well, some of it...​ For many, 2010 was a year for dressing to express, often in excess. Blending in, for the most part, was not an option when out on the town in LA. Inspired by everything from music and movies to retro style and well, we don't know what, her ... More >>

Year in Review: Best Blog Comments of 2010

Flickr/Shaun Martin​ Reader comments are to blogs what letters to the editor used to be, more or less. But as anyone who used to read those has long recognized, blog comments are -- not unlike blogs themselves -- faster, shorter, and often far more irreverent. Which is what makes them so much ... More >>

Theater Reviews: Cinderella, Schmutzigen Deutsche Kabarett

Also, Sweet Mama String Bean and more

What's Your Favorite Sanrio Character (That Isn't Hello Kitty)?

For more from Small Gift, check out "Kitty in Pink: Sanrio's '80s Prom," "Sanrio Celebrates Its 50th Anniversary with 'Small Gift'" and "Sanrio Meets Fight Club in Peekaboo Monster's Installation for Small Gift." Hello Kitty might be the most famous Sanrio character, but she certainly isn't the onl ... More >>

Short Attention Span Dinner Theater: Your Week in Food, 11/15-11/19

In which we highlight the past week in food, either at home or abroad. "As you might have expected, A-Frame, in what looks like an old IHOP tricked out with enough pine and track lighting to make it resemble a ski chalet, is pretty different from the legion of gastropubs." First Bite: Take the A ... More >>

A Clu to Royal/T's Tron Menu

Royal/TLightcycle Salad (left) and Identity Disk Cake (right) from Royal/T's Tron-inspired menu.​ Royal/T changes identities more often than Madonna, but where she's turned into a Kabbalah cultist with impressive and terrifying monkey strength, the hyphenate Japanese maid café/gallery/store ... More >>

Nerding Out For Hello Kitty And Her Pals at Sanrio's Small Gift Celebration

Lina LecaroRevenge of the Bubble Punch babes.​ When we think about the ultimate Sanrio fan, it's usually an adorable little Japanese girl or a punky, pink-haired grown-up Amercian girl, not a boy in broken glasses, suspenders and argyle socks. So we didn't quite get the "I Heart Nerds" theme ... More >>

Sanrio Meets Fight Club in Peekaboo Monster's Installation for Small Gift

L.A.-based artist Peekaboo Monster has neighbors who make soap. He wanted to include soap in his work for Small Gift, Sanrio's 50th anniversary art show currently running at Santa Monica Barker Hangar. But how was he going to combine the two? Shannon Cottrell​ Fight Club, of course. "Honestly ... More >>

Nightranger: WILD FRONTIER

Frontier Records Dirty Thirty at the Echoplex Proves Old Punk Still Aint Out Of Vogue

It's been 30 years since Frontier Records first began to expose an indelible roster of local punk rock bands to hardcore fans, forever leaving its mark on the music scene in LA and beyond. After last night's sweltering 8-hour-plus gathering at the Echoplex to celebrate the milestone with some of the ... More >>

Feline Fun and School Girl Rock at Royal T's Emily the Strange Masquerade

Lina Lecaro Kittens come out for Emily the Strange​ According to her creators, Emily the Strange has become "an internationally known icon for individualism, empowerment and do-it-yourself style," but for many, particularly teen girls, she just looks really cool and dark and different, how ma ... More >>

Nightranger: Pop Smart

Wine Expo New Wine Tasting Bar in Santa Monica Hello Kitty Wine On The Lineup

Champagne, Italian wine, blue agave and a now tasting room. Wine Expo in Santa Monica is opening a wine tasting room adjacent to the Santa Monica Boulevard strip mall shop this summer. The date is still TBD, but owner Ali Biglar says he's aiming for a late June or early July opening. There will be n ... More >>

Devo-lution

LudoBites Returns: Ludo Lefebvre Pops Up At The Royal/T in Culver City In December

LudoBites is back. Chef Ludovic Lefebvre (Top Chef Masters, Bastide, L'Orangerie), whose previous pop-up restaurant was held at BreadBar, is popping up again at the Royal/T in Culver City. Lefebvre will only be cooking at the Japanese-style cosplay café for 13 days in December, in what is the prac ... More >>

Young, Dumb and Full of Cumin

O Brodard, Where Art Thou?