Subject: London (England)

• Alternative Answers

  Please forgive the over-generalization, but to over-generalize the Democrats are the party of expensive mass transit boondoggles, the Republicans are the party of lung cancer, freeways to nowhere and terror-enabling dependence on foreign oil, and in Orange County members of both parties are against commercial airports unless the flight paths shadow the opposition's neighborhoods. But, believe it or not, there are other political parties operating in Orange County, birthplace of the Libertarians

  April 28, 2006

• Comic-Con 2007: Universal Focus/Rogue, part 2

  It may go without saying, but the announcement of a film entitled The Strangers that stars Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman wasn't exactly super-exciting. Especially when writer-director Brian Bertino comes in and he looks about 17. But ever so slowly, the presentation started to warm this cynic's heart. The premise of the movie is that a young couple are terrorized in their home by masked assailants for no apparent reason. In theory, this seems like a good way to tap into fears about the randomnes

  July 31, 2007

• Big Brother is Watching OC Weekly

  In case you were wondering, air travel still sucks. Flights are more crowded and dirtier than ever (I could swear that stain on my courtesy pillow was blood), and even though transatlantic flights now have video on demand, the equipment for it takes up precious milimeters of legroom, already a scarce resource, one that even the joy of watching “300” over and over again can't quite distract a passenger from. Still, I got to see the ending of Shrek 3 without paying for it. It wasn't terrible.

  September 4, 2007

• Video Savant: Jamie Lidell's “The City” (Live)

  Here we find rising UK soul superstar Jamie Lidell shortly before he dropped his 2005 breakthrough album Multiply. At this 2004 show in London, Lidell is in full-on experimental beatboxing mode. Creating rhythms and textures with his looped, extraordinarily supple vocal cords run through mysterious little boxes and Cycling '74 software, Lidell weaves complex matrices of tics, shticks, moans, wails, hiccups and gasps. The result is some of the funkiest glossolalia ever to ricochet around a venue.

  May 20, 2008

• The Sex Pistols at The Joint, Las Vegas, June 7, 2008

  [The Sex Pistols are playing only one US date on their current tour. Ben Marcus went to Las Vegas to file this review of their opening date for Heard Mentality.] Jonesy’s Jukebox on Indie 103.1FM is a guilty addiction we’ll have to live without for most the next three months—all summer long without a daily fix of Steve Jones’ guitar strumming and gastrointestinal rhythm section (although Jones will be doing occasional broadcasts from a special studio set up in London). Last week as Jone

  June 9, 2008

• Bad Karma (Chameleon)? Boy George Forced to Cancel US Tour

  Boy George: He plans to make up those missed dates. Ex-Culture Club front androgyne Boy George has had to cancel his upcoming US tour (including a July 13 date at the Grove of Anaheim) after being denied a work visa. In recent years, George has forged a career as a DJ who plays mediocre house music in fairly sizable clubs. Read the statement from his management after the jump.

  June 23, 2008

• Because You're Ugly: Topshop—An Introduction

  If your trips to London always had to include a visit to the very large, very lovely multi-floored flagship Topshop store in Oxford Circus, I've got some good news: Some weeks ago, Topshop finally launched their American storefronts, both online and retail. Sure the actual store—the very first stateside—is in Manhattan, but I'll take it anyway. Before the debut of the US Topshop.com, S&H cost something like $20 USD. Flat. So Topshop: What is it? Many think of its American equivalent as For

  October 14, 2008

• [Summer Guide] Fox Theater Pomona: Yet Another Reason Not to Go to LA for a Concert this Summer

  June 4, 2009

• A Mexican, An Indonesian and a Brit Walk Into a Restaurant...

  A taste of home! Regular Forkers might have noticed that Gustavo and Edwin now have a new partner for their continuing adventures in rum, bloggery and the mashed potatoes. Please join us in welcoming Lesley McCave, an accomplished food and travel scribe, to Stick a Fork In It. A native of England now based in OC, she has recently contributed to the Rough Guides and LA Direct. Before that, she spent the better part of a decade as an editor with Time Out, London.On this humble blog, Lesley will be

  February 17, 2009

• Pole Dancers Are (Olympic?) Athletes, Too

  Kat Attack Collette Kakuk: Gold medal worthy?Here's one to wrap your legs around: Beach volleyball may no longer be the hottest summer Olympic sport to tune into in 2012 if a critical mass of pole dancers manages to convince the Olympic Committee that the athleticism in the activity is gold-medal competition-worthy, (once you get past the stiletto heels). We know: Pole fitness dancers are not stripping, they're exercising. And even though pole dancing is now regularly indulged in by cookie-bakin

  March 20, 2009

• David Di Sabatino Is Drawn to Charismatic Christians. But Nothing Prepared Him for Larry Norman

  October 16, 2008

• The Weekly's Head Count of the 48 New Faces Who Want to Be Your Next Sheriff

  May 15, 2008

• OC Turns Brit as 'BritWeek' Begins

  Is Tony Blair a Freemason? The video above seems to think so. Oddly, some evidence behind the claim is provided by Martin Short, although it is unclear if he was doing so as himself, Jiminy Glick, Ed Grimley, Katharine Hepburn or Jackie Rogers Jr. What is as clear as London fog is the freewheelin', possibly Freemasonin' former prime minister arrives in Beverly Hills Tuesday evening for a private gala kicking off BritWeek, which is more like "BritMonth" considering the range of events and acti

  April 20, 2009

• Going to The Mars Volta tonight? I hate you

  Okay, maybe that headline was a little strong. I don't "hate" you, "envy" is a better word. Those waiting with baited breath for the next time this ravenous band of fluffy-haired art rockers would travel anywhere near OC had to swallow a bitter pill when The Mars Volta's first tour dates in support of their new album Octahedron were announced. WTF? Venutra? Why? And while most die hard fans wouldn't mind a little trek down the 101 North (ok, a long trek) they HAD to have it at the Majestic Theat

  June 9, 2009

• [Locals Only] The Colourist Are Already Local Favourites

  July 30, 2009

• The Colourist; As Tall As Lions

  August 27, 2009

• Haven Gastropub in Orange Opening This Friday, September 4

  ​We've been following the progress of this new venture, and can confirm that it's set to open to the public this Friday. Edwin tipped me off about the launch date, so he gets credit for that, as do his foodie friends who tipped him off, DanGarion and Jay Ruiz.Located in Old Towne Orange, Haven will be "a modern kitchen that prides itself on producing farm-to-table-fresh European old world fare that far transcends typical pub grub." Good, because typical pub grub in England was until recently q

  August 31, 2009

• Hunger Artists Concoct a Fascinating Brew of Sex, Death and Disease in 'One Flea Spare'

  September 10, 2009

• [Sound Guy] Jessica Dobson's Connections Run Deep. Plus News From Local Natives and Jeffree Star

  September 17, 2009

• Release the Sounds: Wild Young Hearts by the Noisettes

  ​There's always room for a surging ball of sultry, 60s-inspired Britpop. And by most accounts (this account specifically), UK power trio the Noisettes have a sound that amounts to that and much more. Though their album, the dynamic full length Wild Young Hearts, has already gotten its time to shine across the pond--it was released back in April over there--it's out stateside today. Spearheaded by the jazzy vocals and megawatt presence of vocalist/bassist Shingai Shoniwa, the band rolls through

  September 22, 2009

• Dance Pick Of The Week: Doc Martin At Focus

  It's a little strange to sense all the buzz surrounding Europe's new dark wave of dance floor sounds, which combine tribal drums with deep, chugging bass and a simmering sense of bacchanalia. The likes of Loco Dice, Sven Vath, Dubfire and Radio Slave have been churning out this latest club-land flavor, which lies somewhere between minimal techno and dubby house music. But it's been done before.Fabric LondonThe doctor is in the house.​ Rewind to the mid-1990s and behold one Southern Califo

  November 12, 2009

• Mash-up Master Dirty South Leads Geekdom's Charge Into Clubland

  November 12, 2009

• The Big Pink Bring a Delirious Wall of Sound to Detroit Bar

  November 19, 2009