North Africa

This Week In Food: An Alcoholic Snow Cone, the Worst Reasons to Open a Restaurant, and Bacon Condoms (What!?!)

Happy Friday ladies and gents, let's take a look at what this week in food brought us... Edwin reviewed Michael's Pizzeria in Long Beach where you can watch your pizzas being made in a bright and modern setting. Then he switched to strictly silly topics, telling us about Sriracha flavored chocolate ... More >>

On The Line: Ed Silkaitis of The Shore, Part One

Banana brownie cream pie. Salmon eyes. Harissa. Not exactly the trio you'd expect Ed Silkaitis of The Shore to discuss in our interview, but he manages to discuss all three.Your earliest food memory:The smell of bacon crackling in the pan.Some would say you're more bar than restaurant. What do you t ... More >>

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Activist: Rebels by Accident, Intuition or Circumstance

Mr. Bib's reintroduction to quality Young Adult fiction comes mostly courtesy of the Little Bibster, aged 10, who patiently explains the often complicated relationships, plot twists, characters and worlds of the Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Lemony Snicket series, and especially Rick Riordan's seeming ... More >>

Copts and Muslims Will Meet Tonight at Islamic Society of Orange County To Show The World Neither Group is Crazy

In one word, it was disgusting. That's how Shakeel Syed, executive director of the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California, described the amateurish film that was blamed for instigating violent protests in Libya and Egypt, as well as others in Sudan, Indonesia, and Pakistan, last week. American ... More >>

Police: Welcome To Anaheimistan; Now Obey Our Whims or Die

It's a historical fact that the biggest threat to the citizens of any nation isn't outsiders but their own government's police and military--the folks with all the guns, arrest powers and unwavering insistence that their own violence is committed only as a means to peace.For proof, glance at the his ... More >>

The OCeeker: St. Marina Coptic Orthodox Church and the Kiss That Missed

Something kinda holy just happened. If only the OCeeker could make sense of it. But that's the risk one takes when a sanctified savage lolligags into a liturgy where even the Almighty his own self can't break through the language barrier.   That said, a man will take a blessing in any tongu ... More >>

35th Annual Cairo Caravan

Queen Mary

Recipe of the Week: Koshari, the Egyptian Lasagna!

​There's that old saying about doing as the Romans do when in Rome. But when you're in Cairo, don't mimic the Egyptians like you would the Romans--at least when it comes to eating street food. The number of food carts in the country's capital is as many as the warnings you'll receive from fellow E ... More >>

Prayer Breakfast to Celebrate Our Liberal Lord and Savior

She probably won't be there​For those who weren't able to eat crumbs from the $650-a-plate tables at this year's National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., an upcoming prayer breakfast in south Orange County offers a cheaper way to entreat the Lord. The theme is...wait for it, ye bad Sama ... More >>

Supporters of Ergun Kirlikovali, Idiot Armenian Genocide-Denier, Threaten to Protest Outside Weekly Offices!

​You can write all sorts of damning things against individuals, yet it's the most innocuous words that hurt. I'll never forget last year, when I got a call from none other than Mark Weber, the head of the Holocaust-denying Institute for Historical Review, all upset that I called him a "cockroach" ... More >>

Little Arabia Grows Up

Can one of the country's largest Middle Eastern neighborhoods patch up its rivalries to become OC's next famous ethnic enclave?

Silent Protest Against Turkey's Armenian Genocide Denial Campaign to Happen Tomorrow at UC Irvine

​Earlier this week, the French Senate passed a resolution making it a crime in France to deny the Armenian genocide, a historical reality accepted by everyone except the Republic of Turkey and many of its citizens. As a result, many Turkish-American organizations in this country are already blasti ... More >>

Blue Ivy Carter and Other Obscure Hip-Hop/R&B Child Names

​For those of you not in the know, or not near a TV or Internet this weekend, it finally happened: Jay-Z and Beyoncé gave birth to what is soon to be the most famous heir in hip-hop history: Blue Ivy Carter. Young Blue's middle name allegedly is for her mom and pop's birthdays (both being on the ... More >>

Arab Spring Not Exactly Warm for Christians

Wikipedia Commons​A year into the Arab Spring, if the future does not look bright for people who took to the streets of Egypt, Libya and Tunisia, at least they are now talking about a future for the first time in . . . well, forever.But for the small minority of Christians in those countries? Not ... More >>

Music From Saharan Cellphones, Remix by Matthewdavid

​In 2010, after returning from extensive travel in Mali and Mauritania, Chris Kirkley from Sahel Sounds presented Music from Saharan Cellphones, a collection of underground music from the Saharan region which was circulated almost exclusively from cellphone to cellphone via bluetooth bumps. He ... More >>

'The Artist,' or the Silence of the Hams

Joyfully resurrecting Hollywood's past, jabber-free

The Cure at the Pantages Theatre Last Night

​The CureNovember 22, 2011The Pantages TheatreClick here to see more photos from the showForty-five songs, three classic albums spanning three-plus hours constituted one unforgettable night with the Cure. If you don't have tickets to the show tonight, you may wanna scalp some or book your flight n ... More >>

'Black Power Mixtape' Is Your Civil-Rights History

The struggle, as brought to you by Swedish TV

Who Harvested Maize First: The Aztecs or the Mayans?

[¡Ask a Mexican!] And what are the three milks of pastel de tres leches?

Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello Debuts Comic Book Series 'Orchid,' with

​Who knew Tom Morello wrote comic books? His debut comic series Orchid was unveiled at San Diego Comic Con last night, and it's an "epic fantasy story set in a dystopian future infused with Morello's class conscious worldview and the politics of street terrorism."Morello says "It's like Lord of t ... More >>

Kenneth Joseph Lucas II Gets 13 Years for Running International Phishing Scam and Indoor Pot Farm

​UPDATE, JUNE 28, 2 P.M.: Sentences totaling 13 years for convictions in two cases have been given to Kenneth Joseph Lucas II, the "kingpin" of an international "phishing" operation that used spam e-mails and bogus websites to collect personal information used to defraud American banks. The 27- ... More >>

SCAPE Gallery Shows White's Power

New exhibit offers a host of themes on the emblematic, enigmatic sometimes-color

Me Arlene Settle Could Get Stiff Prison Sentence for Role in International Phishing Ring

​When federal indictments were announced in the fall of 2009 as part of Operation "Phish Phry," a multinational investigation conducted in the United States and Egypt that led to charges against 100 people, it was hailed as the largest number of defendants ever charged in a cybercrime case. Fiv ... More >>

Syrians Take Protest to Consulate General in Newport Beach Today

​Events are moving fast across Northern Africa and the Middle East, and Syria is no exception. To protest the massacre of peaceful freedom fighters in the streets of their homeland, Syrian Americans throughout Southern California are gathering at the Consulate General of Syria in Newport Beach fro ... More >>

Locals Seek Support for Harassed Christians in Egypt and the Middle East

​As the attention of the world seems to have shifted to Libya (or Charlie Sheen), some locals would like the media light to shine on Christians who were struggling to survive in Egypt even before the Hosni Mubarak government collapsed."Three weeks ago, nine out of ten tweets I received were relate ... More >>

6 Questions Pastor Rick Warren Should Ask Tony Blair

​Coming up next on The Saddleback Church Comedy Hour with Pastor Rick is former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who stunned Americans with his poise, intelligence and speaking ability at podiums next to George W. Bush's--while at the same time being branded "Bush's poodle" by Brits.Rick Warren ... More >>

UCI Prof Remixes the Egyptian Revolution

[Mental Notes] Also, Parker Macy to open a record store at the Lab

UCI Prof Remixing the Song of the Egyptian Revolution

​Celebrations are erupting in Cairo's Tahrir Square and in other areas today as the Egyptian Revolution has finally ended the thirty-year rule of President Hosni Mubarak. After eighteen days and, according to Human Rights Watch, more than three hundred deaths, the power of the people is on ... More >>

Orange Countians Closely Watching Events Unfold in Egypt Agree the U.S. Must Get Behind Its People

​"It's a moment of total euphoria," Edina Lekovich, director of policy and programming with the Muslim Public Affairs Council of Los Angeles, said during this morning's uninterrupted KTLA/Channel 5 news coverage of the events unfolding in Egypt after the resignation and departure of Egyptian Presi ... More >>

Egyptian Rebellion Inspires Hip-Hop Solidarity Song

​ Tens of thousands of Egyptian workers left work on strike today, bolstering the 16th day of protests against the regime of Hosni Mubarak and pressing for the president's immediate resignation. North American hip-hop artists, inspired by the persistence of the people in Cairo's Tahrir Square, hav ... More >>

Samaa Kerba and Young Son Escaped Egypt, But the Mission Viejo Residents' Nightmare Had Only Begun

​A Mission Viejo woman and her 4-year-old son were hours away from being sent back to strife-torn Egypt this past weekend before the American Civil Liberties Union intervened on their behalf.Permanent U.S. resident Samaa Kerba, 26, and her son were returning home from Cairo because of the violence ... More >>

Little Arabia Facebook Status Update of the Day On the Middle East Protests

​"Like Akram Lotfy from Alexandria, Egypt, wrote on his Facebook wall before the shutdown, 'A government that is afraid of Facebook and Twitter should govern a city in Farmville.'"--Posted by Roqaya Ashmawey, one of the many young Arab-American activists looking to rename Anaheim's stretch of Broo ... More >>

Prison Winemaking: Mike Carona Edition

Flickr user quevedoports​ This week's recipe goes out to disgraced ex-Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona, who began serving a five-and-half-year prison sentence yesterday in the minimum-security federal pen in Littleton, Colorado. Since prison will present Carona so much time and so few outlets for ... More >>

Indie Tuesdays: Fire in Cairo

La Cave

Helmet at the Galaxy Theater Over The Weekend

Andrew Youssef/OC Weekly​HelmetSeptember 24, 2010Galaxy TheaterWhile bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden experienced lots of popularity during the early '90s as part of the grunge movement, Helmet found their own niche with their sharp metallic guitar riffs and odd time signatures. After ... More >>

"Never Say No To A Panda" Commercials

Never Say No To Panda - watch more funny videos Commercials like this wouldn't go over well stateside, especially if you're trying to sell cheese. But in Egypt, this creepy, insolent and really mean panda has become a hit.  Of course, it went viral this week.And I share it with you, since um, ... More >>

World Cup: Ghana vs. USA

The Olde Ship British Pub

Exquisite Corpses at the Bowers

The multicultural mummies of 'Secrets of the Silk Road' don't disappoint

Ten Sports You Can Play With a Beer in Your Hand

[Summer Guide] Neither mandatory nor helpful to your performance, a little hops can definitely enhance the sporting experience

Spa Week Wonders

[Trendzilla] Take the low road to high-end treatments, for a limited time only

Yahya El-Hobb 
(Long Live Love)

Argyros Forum

The Archaeology of Possession, Inheritance, and Value

Chapman University

Sordid and Sacred: The Beggars in Rembrandt’s Etchings

Bowers Museum

Cairo Cravan

Queen Mary

Rejoycifying!

Defying Gravity: The Music of Stephen Schwartz

Danis McDermott

New Works

Mummy’s the Word

Dinner and Lantern Lit Tour

Pointy Things

Building the Great Pyramid

!Ask a Mexican!(r)

Special Screenings

Movie of the week: Sahara