Sarah Fenske

Artist Diwon performs at the (free!) Sephardic Music Festival.; Credit: Photo by Nina Safar

5 Awesome Free Things to Do in L.A. This Week

Sarah Fenske
L.A. is chock-full of great things to do this week - and a whole bunch of them are 100 percent free. These five options won't cost you more than the price of a parking space (or a bus ticket). So what are you waiting for? Start making plans already! 5)......
The Sound of Music taught Hollywood the wrong lessons about musicals

How The Sound of Music Killed the Movie Musical

Sarah Fenske
From the earliest days of "talkies" through the 1960s, musicals were a huge part of Hollywood. The Academy's first-ever Best Picture Oscar given to a film with sound, in 1929, went to a musical, the now-forgotten The Broadway Melody. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rodgers became box-office champs by singing and......
Ice Cube got his name on the Goodyear Blimp -- and he raised money for charity

Ice Cube Gets His Name on the Goodyear Blimp (For Real)

Sarah Fenske
Today was a good day. In fact, today was National Good Day Day: As comedian Donovan Strain famously determined, January 20, 1992 had to have been the day that inspired Ice Cube's "It Was a Good Day. " After all, Strain's scientific analysis found, it was the only day that......
Fries

Fast Food Is Awesome — So Lighten Up, America

Sarah Fenske
Consider the McDonald's french fry. It's a cliché, yes, but these fries really are crispy on the outside and soft and mealy on the inside, tossed with salt straight out of the deep-fat fryer and served in a little cardboard cup while they're still hot. They might be the best......
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L.A. Weekly Seeks Freelance Copy Editor

Sarah Fenske
Do you obsess over typos? Does bad grammar make you cringe? Do you find yourself grating your teeth every time we confuse "convince" and "persuade"? We might be able to help -- and by that, we mean help you help us. The L.A. Weekly has a rare opening for a......
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Riding Shotgun with Roy Choi: L.A. Son Tells the Kogi Chef's Story

Sarah Fenske
So how's this for an L.A. story? A young couple and their two-year-old son leave South Korea for Los Angeles, where they open a restaurant. It fails, but they refuse to quit -- working their family connections to enter the jewelry business. There they achieve such staggering success they're able......
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Shooting at LAX Closes Terminal 3

Sarah Fenske
See our latest updates at the bottom, including: One TSA agent was killed and one was injured along with five other people. Mayor Eric Garcetti says the suspect, identified by the FBI as 23-year-old Paul Anthony Ciancia, allegedly had 100 rounds on him. First posted at 9:50 a.m. A shooting......
About to get metered: The now-free lot on Electric Avenue serves Abbot Kinney's shops and restaurants.; Credit: Sarah Fenske

No More Free Parking for Abbot Kinney: Lot Going Metered

Sarah Fenske
Venice's Abbot Kinney Boulevard is one of the few shopping districts anywhere in L.A. offering close-by parking that's 100 percent free -- just find a spot in the mostly unpaved lots running along the east side of the street, fronting Electric Avenue, and you won't have to worry about meter......