Isaac Simpson

Credit: Photo by Richard Ha via Flickr

USC Lost Its One and Only MFA Candidate — Now What?

Isaac Simpson
Against her better judgment, HaeAhn Kwon came from South Korea to Los Angeles to attend the embattled MFA program at USC Roski School of Art and Design. “I was already suspicious of the administration for alienating an entire year of MFA students,” Kwon wrote in a letter to the school’s......
Interior of the new Civil Coffee in Highland Park; Credit: David Maziarz

Civil Coffee Is Opening Tomorrow in Highland Park

Isaac Simpson
Whether as a mobile coffee bar in Chinatown, in a stall at the food court of the Melrose Trading Post or under a tent at Coachella, Alex and Alan Morales' Civil Coffee has been popping up around L.A. in one form or another for nearly three years. The Morales' dream of......
Credit: Isaac Simpson

L.A.'s Newest Improv School Isn't Going for Laughs

Isaac Simpson
From a tiny black box theater on Sunset, right next door to the nerd mecca Meltdown Comics, Ptolemy Slocum is plotting improv’s return to its freer roots.   Slocum, a character actor who’s appeared in a number of films and in HBO series including The Wire, Veep and The Sopranos, is the lead teacher......
Credit: Isaac Simpson

Best Low-Cost Bike Shop

Isaac Simpson
What started as an all-purpose variety store has evolved into L.A.'s go-to spot for reasonably priced used bikes. Coco's Variety Store doesn't just flip bikes, it rebuilds them from scratch and sells them with a warranty. Owner Peter Vermeren has 25 years of experience as a garage-sale picker, which he......
Credit: Kelly Rose

Best New Comedy Show

Isaac Simpson
Good Heroin is a refreshing oasis for Angelenos accustomed to comedy shows with two-drink minimums at crowded venues that look like nightclubs. The BYOB gathering occurs on Saturday nights on the back patio of Stories, a bookstore and coffee shop in Echo Park with a warm, comfortable atmosphere. The coffee......
Credit: Todd Zuniga

Best Storytelling Competition

Isaac Simpson
At Literary Death Match, you don't have to choose between great writing and great improv. The live show pits three sets of budding writers against one another in front of a panel of three celebrity judges, usually prominent comedians. The writers perform head-to-head, seven-minute readings of their work, then face......
Credit: Isaac Simpson

Best Venice Boardwalk Artist

Isaac Simpson
There are few original artists among the celebrity portraitists, mini surfboard creators, skyline photographers and names-on-rice painters that dominate the Venice Boardwalk. None is as good as Flewnt, who has been honing his craft at stall 111, across from the American Apparel store, for 10 years. "On the boardwalk you......
Credit: BJ DeHut

Best Street Art Mural

Isaac Simpson
Street art and Skid Row are two of the defining cultural elements of L.A. Combining them is Skid Row City Limits, a powerful piece of street art by Winston Death Squad. It is both a beautifying tapestry and a statement of community. When the city tried to rename the infamously......
Credit: Isaac Simpson

Best L.A. River Fishing Spot

Isaac Simpson
Renewed interest in a more natural L.A. River has led to a push to make it more fishable. On Sept. 5, Friends of the L.A. River (FoLAR) organized the second annual fly-fishing competition on a foliage-filled section of the river in North Atwater Park. While the steelhead trout have long......
Credit: Isaac Simpson

Best Hidden Hike

Isaac Simpson
Park just south of Griffith Park at the three-way intersection of Cadman Drive, Shannon Road and Griffith Park Boulevard. Walk north on Cadman, past some mansions built on the leafy hillside, and enter the woods. Keep walking and discover a path up a grassy hill overlooking the L.A. River and......