North Africa

The Afrobeat Goes On

Cafe Livre Opens Its Tea and Coffee Garden

Don't wear your lacy picture hat, and don't even think about elegantly extending your pinkie as you hold a cup of tea at Café Livre. "We want to make tea service more casual and fun, take it out of the parlor," says Susan Park, director of operations at the cafe, which has just opened its Siptea ... More >>

The Cure - Pantages Theater - 11-22-11

Randall Michelson​By Siran Babayan The Cure Pantages Theater 11-22-11 Better Than....Crying home alone Tonight, Morrissey performs a last-minute gig at the Music Box where the marquee reads: "There Is No Such Thing In Life As Normal...We Love You Morrissey." If you walk past fans who've been ... More >>

Back Door Channels: The Price of Peace Review

Randall Michelson​By Siran Babayan The Cure Pantages Theater 11-22-11 Better Than....Crying home alone Tonight, Morrissey performs a last-minute gig at the Music Box where the marquee reads: "There Is No Such Thing In Life As Normal...We Love You Morrissey." If you walk past fans who've been ... More >>

Black Power Mixtape Documentary Review

How Swedish journalists predated hip-hop as the CNN of the streets

Egyptian Lover & Arabian Prince - Freak City - 9-17-11

Lina Lecaro The Prince and the Lover....​Egyptian Lover & Arabian Prince Freak City September 17, 2011 Better Than: Old school hip-hop Serato DJ sets we've seen lately. Though the sound and style of West Coast rap music has evolved over the years, the lyrical bravado and the boldness of bea ... More >>

Music Picks: Bob Dylan, Azalia Snail, Makabert Fynd, Seun Kuti

Also, No Age, Crystal Antlers, Imelda May and others

Carmageddon Survival Guide: 10 Artsy Ways to Salvage Your Weekend

Cult soul singer Evie Sands in the 1960s; Sands is performing at Viva Cantina this Sunday.​ With the impending shutdown of the 405, everyone's unsure of what to do this weekend. Quoth a friend: "Should I leave? Should I stay? And if I stay, what should I do?" Have no fear, we've got you cove ... More >>

Two Sides of Brian Eno

Cult soul singer Evie Sands in the 1960s; Sands is performing at Viva Cantina this Sunday.​ With the impending shutdown of the 405, everyone's unsure of what to do this weekend. Quoth a friend: "Should I leave? Should I stay? And if I stay, what should I do?" Have no fear, we've got you cove ... More >>

After the Arab Spring

Cult soul singer Evie Sands in the 1960s; Sands is performing at Viva Cantina this Sunday.​ With the impending shutdown of the 405, everyone's unsure of what to do this weekend. Quoth a friend: "Should I leave? Should I stay? And if I stay, what should I do?" Have no fear, we've got you cove ... More >>

Aqua Frescas, Sharbat Algerian Limonada: 4 Summertime Drink Recipes

Eugen Ahn of Forage in Silver LakeAprium. Strawberry and Blackberry, and Lemonade Agua Frescas at Forage​ Mexican agua frescas, French and Italian syrups, and British sherbet powders are all derived from North African and Middle Eastern sharbats: sweetened drinks flavored with fruit, ground n ... More >>

Best Comedy Blog: Christwire

Eugen Ahn of Forage in Silver LakeAprium. Strawberry and Blackberry, and Lemonade Agua Frescas at Forage​ Mexican agua frescas, French and Italian syrups, and British sherbet powders are all derived from North African and Middle Eastern sharbats: sweetened drinks flavored with fruit, ground n ... More >>

Farid Zadi: The Couscous Coach

Kevin ScanlonFarid Zadi​ Farid Zadi likes to tell the story of how, when he was 14, he got a job as a dishwasher at a local castle to make some extra money. That would be a real castle, not one where the waitstaff dress like courtesans to bring you faux-medieval chicken legs while you watch fa ... More >>

Hosni Mubarak Spam: Hilarious Email Asks Us to 'Help Secure the Resources of the President' Amid Billion-Dollar Corruption Charges

PoliticoSoon to be ours!​Good thing we checked our spam folder this morning! Because, buried among Obama scams and penis enlargers, we discovered a total gold mine: A business proposal from an alleged associate of former Eqyptian president and world-class scumbag Hosni Mubarak. The evil dicta ... More >>

Lara Logan Confirms She Was Brutally and Repeatedly Raped in Egypt: Why Did the Media Think She Wasn't?

CBS NewsThe photo of Logan that CBS originally included in its news flash, "moments before she was attacked on Feb. 11, 2011."​In the hours and days following CBS reporter Lara Logan's brutal and repeated rape in Egypt, the world understandably wanted details. But Logan only released a brief state ... More >>

Everyone Loves a Troll: How Christwire Fooled Rachel Maddow, Howard Stern, 3 Million Coachella Heads and Counting

ChristwireThe mega-trollers, in costume as Bryan Blake and Mike Watson​Christwire.org is a joke. IT'S NOT REAL. Not a genuine bone in its blogroll. (Except for when they also fool their Christian freelancers.) Every day, the two dudes who run Christwire read hundreds of your angry comments a ... More >>

Q & A With Yvonne & Nancy Boules: Going from Home to Restaurant Kitchen, Egyptian Fava Bean Falafel The Beauty of Bulgarian Feta

K. RobbinsYvonne and Nancy Boules trying a new recipe for Egyptian accented beignets​ Om Ali is one of Yvonne Boules' signature dishes at Café Dahab, the Egyptian focused Mediterranean restaurant that she runs with her daughter Nancy. Puff pastry, hazelnuts, and coconut are layered in a bless ... More >>

Q & A With Yvonne & Nancy Boules, Part 2: Change in Egypt, The Comforts of Koshari Slimy, Slimy Jute Leaf

K. RobbinsYvonne Boules assembling koshari​ In part one of our interview with Yvonne and Nancy Boules, the mother and daughter team behind Café Dahab told us about going from home cooks to restaurant chefs and how they make their bright green falafel. Turn the page to read their take on chan ... More >>

Keeping Bookstores Alive with Ken and Barbie Mummies

K. RobbinsYvonne Boules assembling koshari​ In part one of our interview with Yvonne and Nancy Boules, the mother and daughter team behind Café Dahab told us about going from home cooks to restaurant chefs and how they make their bright green falafel. Turn the page to read their take on chan ... More >>

Of Gods and Men

K. RobbinsYvonne Boules assembling koshari​ In part one of our interview with Yvonne and Nancy Boules, the mother and daughter team behind Café Dahab told us about going from home cooks to restaurant chefs and how they make their bright green falafel. Turn the page to read their take on chan ... More >>

Starting To Look a Lot Like Egypt: West Hollywood City Council Candidates Try To Oust Stubborn Dictator With Social-Media Uprising

PHOTO BY JENNIE WARRENWeHo City Council candidate Mito Aviles wants to send the Mubarak -- er, mayor -- packing on a private jet​In this week's cover story, "Dethroning West Hollywood's Martinets," Patrick Range McDonald documents three underdog WeHo City Council candidates who are taking a st ... More >>

Governor Jerry Brown: He's Just Like Us! Or, the Southwest Flight That Wooed a People

Byte-sized fares make for better budgets​At a time when ex-Prez of Egypt Hosni Mubarak is private-jetting off to his sprawling estate in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikha, where a charmed life awaits the loathed 30-year dictator (free of angry mobs and full of luxury frond-fan type shit - ... More >>

Could Hosni Mubarak End Up in L.A? He Reportedly Owns Property in Beverly Hills

Hosni of Beverly Hills?​Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak finally stepped down Friday after weeks of unrest on the streets of Cairo and Alexandria. The question for us is, could he come to L.A? Mubarak is widely reported to own property on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills -- and somewhere on that ... More >>

Art-House Blues

Hosni of Beverly Hills?​Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak finally stepped down Friday after weeks of unrest on the streets of Cairo and Alexandria. The question for us is, could he come to L.A? Mubarak is widely reported to own property on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills -- and somewhere on that ... More >>

Egypt: Follow Map-Based Tweets About Egyptian Protests Through UCLA Project

UCLAHyperCities Egypt​As turmoil continues in Egypt, where hope met with anger Thursday as President Hosni Mubarak appeared to settle into his throne even as President Obama expressed optimism over a "moment of transformation" there, LA Observed points us to a fascinating project at UCLA that ... More >>

Egyptian Hip Hop: This Is What It Sounds Like

​Prompted by the current situation in Egypt, LA Weekly contributor Lisa Carver dug up a video of a collaboration between hip-hop group Mafia Boys and Egyptian hip-hop artists. In case you were wondering what kind of rap music the youth in revolt of Egypt is grooving too, here's an example of w ... More >>

Charlie Sheen's L.A. Porn Party Bumps Egypt 'Chaos' to Bottom of New York Post

New York PostThe important things in life​We're all about keeping tabs on the Lohans and Octomoms of the world, but Saturday's issue of the New York Post made us... well. Let's just say there may have been some guilt-laced acid reflux involved. We've been doing a lot of thinking since then. Y ... More >>

UCLA Egypt Professor: Museum Looting, Mummy Beheading Amid Chaos Is 'Huge Loss' for World Heritage

This King Tut statue was smashed by looters​At stake: Human rights. Freedom. Democracy. And a gilded wooden statue of King Tutankhamun. UCLA Professor Willeke Wendrich just got back from an Egyptian archeological dig in December. She says she could detect a "longstanding unhappiness" in lower ... More >>

Los Angeles Shows Support for Egypt with Rally at Federal Building

Liana Aghajanian​ See more photos in "Los Angeles Rally Shows Support for Egyptian Protesters." By: Liana Aghajanian As protests calling for the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak violently escalated on the streets of Egypt in what is now the fifth day of anti-government unrest, at lea ... More >>

Egyptian Unrest: Could a Total Shutdown of Internet Traffic Ever Happen in the U.S. Too?

The Daily WhatWeb traffic flatlined in Egypt.​One of the more chilling aspects of the unrest in Egypt this week has been watching internet access in that country go almost completely dark. The shutdown of a web we rely on so much for the democratization of information is almost shocking. The ... More >>

What's in Season at the Farmers Markets: Piles of Winter Citrus

Felicia FriesemaKishu tangerines next to Meyer lemons at the Hollywood Farmers Market.​ During the later summer months, the mountains of peaches and plums at market stalls were heavy enough to deeply bow wood-topped tables, in part thanks to some pretty great rains during the previous springt ... More >>

G20 to Address Rising Food Prices

Flickr/John Rohana grocery aisle in Korea​ How long has it been since you thought groceries were cheap? Everyone has noticed the increase in food prices, and now the G20, a group composed of the heads of state of 20 of the world's largest economies, is poised to do something about it. Accord ... More >>

Never Say No to Panda Cheese

While we like to imagine Don Draper dreaming up the cheese commercials that have caused us to spend the last hour wheezing through laughter-induced stomach pains, Panda is a product of Egypt, not Madison Avenue. As was the case with those cavemen a few years back, all the "it" commercial elements ... More >>

EXCLUSIVE: First Interview with LA DJ Kutmah after His Controversial Deportation

​ Two months ago, news broke that the popular Dublab and Low End Theory-affiliated DJ, Justin "Kutmah" McNulty had been detained by Department of Homeland Security authorities for failing to honor a voluntary deportation notice that he had signed over a decade earlier. The arrest triggered a ... More >>

PUPPET LOVE

​ Two months ago, news broke that the popular Dublab and Low End Theory-affiliated DJ, Justin "Kutmah" McNulty had been detained by Department of Homeland Security authorities for failing to honor a voluntary deportation notice that he had signed over a decade earlier. The arrest triggered a ... More >>

Mission of Niger

Etran Finatawa offer a nomadic blues for modern times

MUMMIES FOR DUMMIES

Etran Finatawa offer a nomadic blues for modern times

California Lawmakers Use World Cup Fever To Raise Money

​Two California lawmakers are using the excitement surrounding the World Cup to raise money for their re-election bids, according to the Sacramento Bee. Assemblyman Bill Monning of Carmel and Sen. Lois Wolk of Davis (both Democrats) invited supporters this morning to gather at local pubs to ... More >>

Top 7 Human-Animal Hybrids Now Illegal Under Arizona Law

Under Arizona's new (and honest-to-god real) law banning "animal human hybrids," a whole lot of pop-cultural characters would be considered illegal. The law prohibits anyone in the state from "creating or attempting to create an in vitro human embryo by any means other than fertilization of a human ... More >>

California Science Center Prepares for "Mummies of the World"

On July 1, California Science Center will unveil an unprecedented collection of forty-five mummies and ninety-five related artifacts. The exhibit, "Mummies of the World," will feature both natural and intentional mummies hailing from collections in fifteen different museums and seven different count ... More >>

M.I.A.'s New Video Takes "Kick a Ginger Day" to Absurd Conclusion

M.I.A. has a new video out and it's being pushed as this week's Erykah Badu-type scandal. The video for "Born Free" is streaming as the front page of M.I.A.'s official website, the same strategy Badu used with her naked-JFK-assassination stunt a few weeks ago. Los Angeles is featured prominently on ... More >>

Do As the Romans Did: Turn Old Wine into a Cocktail

Supreme Council Of AntiquitiesShe'd Like Her Kir Extra Dry, Please​CNN reported this week that Egyptian archeologists have discovered a three-foot-tall female mummy dating to 300 B.C., the first Roman mummy found in the Bahariya Oasis (southwest of Cairo). Fashionistas would be pleased to lear ... More >>

ROLLING IN THE NILES

Supreme Council Of AntiquitiesShe'd Like Her Kir Extra Dry, Please​CNN reported this week that Egyptian archeologists have discovered a three-foot-tall female mummy dating to 300 B.C., the first Roman mummy found in the Bahariya Oasis (southwest of Cairo). Fashionistas would be pleased to lear ... More >>

Ultra-Sexy BIG INTERNATIONAL EVENT

Supreme Council Of AntiquitiesShe'd Like Her Kir Extra Dry, Please​CNN reported this week that Egyptian archeologists have discovered a three-foot-tall female mummy dating to 300 B.C., the first Roman mummy found in the Bahariya Oasis (southwest of Cairo). Fashionistas would be pleased to lear ... More >>

Coachella Day 2: Tinariwen's Sunset Convergence is the Talk of the Festival

Timothy NorrisTinariwen: Nomads who now roam the earth delivering Tuareg music of Saharan North Africa. This is the 2009 show that's likely to build into a Coachella legend. Tinariwen's sunset set at the Gobi tent. Standing on the stage, the sextet, dressed in traditional Tuareg robes and headwear ... More >>

Orange Lemon Egg Canary

Timothy NorrisTinariwen: Nomads who now roam the earth delivering Tuareg music of Saharan North Africa. This is the 2009 show that's likely to build into a Coachella legend. Tinariwen's sunset set at the Gobi tent. Standing on the stage, the sextet, dressed in traditional Tuareg robes and headwear ... More >>

Materialistic Fetishism Reconsidered

(A last-minute gift-giving guide)

The Vanishing

(A last-minute gift-giving guide)

Ask Mr. Gold

(A last-minute gift-giving guide)

Fava Knows Best

Lebanese bean stew in Pasadena