Los Angeles by HELLER
Victoria Reynolds’ exhibit “Carnal Sanctorum” curated by Jeffrey Vallance is now on view at the Creativity Crisis Center. The CCC is a contemporary art museum that Joshua Heller and I started in the San Fernando Valley. If you’re familiar with Follow Your Heart, the vegan restaurant, the CCC is only a couple blocks away. Please send me a message, email, or post a comment if you would like to visit.
Estamos armando la tienda cósmica
para que a sus viajes astrales nunca les hagan falta cosas materiales
Whoa! me and Daniel Rolnik opened a contemporary art museum above a crystal shop in historic canoga park. we already have a show up now with artist jeffrey vallance, and have a few more sfv-centric exhibits coming in next few months. excited to collaborate so let us know if you have an idea. also expect zines, music, events, vernissages, etc. follow along at Creativity Crisis Center on sherman way near owensmouth in the beautiful san fernando valley.
Early photos of Los Angeles found on the Water and Power Associates website.
Right here in Los Angeles.
Gonna be all over Europe this summer!
Playing records at Tabula Rasa Bar for a few weeks in a row.
5/24 
5/31
6/7
If you’re considering getting Global Entry, and want to do it fast, you should make a mini-vacation to Mexicali, BC out of it.
Appointments at LAX can take months, Calexico appointments are available within weeks. After your quick interview, you could drive all the way back home, or you could spend the night in the capital of Baja California.
We stayed at the Real Inn Mexicali, for $75/night, which is about as nice as staying at a $160/night hotel in some other North American state capital’s downtown. We hung out at the pool for a while, because it’s very very very hot there, then we got ready for dinner.
Mexicali has over 345 Chinese restaurants, serving Cantonese food with uniquely Cachanilla additions: chile güeros, a bowl of limes, and ubiquitous caguamas of Tecate and Tecate Light. We walked five minutes to Pekin, which was a little fancier than Nuevo Canton. We ordered the $208 MXN combination, where they kept bringing out rounds of food…
Carnitas Coloradas (Char Siu), Res Estilo Mongol (Mongolian Beef), Sopa Tipo Aleta (imitation shark fin soup), Pollo Mandarin (Orange Chicken), Arroz Cantonés (Fried Rice with shrimp and Chinese sausage), Pollo a la Plancha (grilled chicken in a teriyaki sauce) and Combinacíon China (which was like all the meats and all the veggies in one tasty dish.) We got 2 bottles of Tecate Light and an order of Chun Cun (Egg Rolls.) — We left very full, and had enough leftovers for the next two meals for about $44.
Then we walked a block to Cinépolis Centro Cívico, where the concession line almost wraps around the block. We saw Mujer Maravilla (Wonder Woman) in English with Spanish subtitles for 90 pesos. That’s a blockbuster on opening day for $2.45 per ticket. If you’re a film buff, it’s almost crazy not to cross the border to go to the movies.
The next morning we walked to Sanborn’s in the Plaza Fiesta. There will always be a place in my heart for this Mexican institution. They have a wide range of comfort food on their menu, and each month they celebrate a different region. I got San Luis Potosi-inspired arranchera on my chilaquiles, and Maureen got a club sandwich. We walked out full for about $25.
There’s obviously waaaaay more to do in Mexicali, but we wanted to get back, so we checked out of the hotel at 1pm. We took a 50 peso cab ride to the border, we crossed in 15 minutes, which was faster than I’d ever crossed before (and that was without using Global Entry VIP status.) We stopped at a shop to buy a $5 fidget spinner, and we walked back to the car at Double AA, a few blocks from the border. It’s only $4/day or 100 pesos/day. I’d recommend paying in dollars, unless you really want to get rid of your pesos (cuz it’s like you’re paying $6)
Then we went to the Nike outlet in Calexico, and I got some pretty cool pink & purple running shoes on clearance for 40 bucks. There are some good deals over there.
Then we drove north to Brawley, California, and went to his gastropub in an old building downtown called Inferno. Which has really tasty barbecue and pizza, and they sometimes have concerts — Snoop Dogg played there once. Anyway I got the manager’s info, and maybe we can throw a party there some day. Then we stopped for a date shake in Westmorland, California before driving back to LA.
So that’s a pretty good cheap Southern California / Baja California mini-vacation, that let’s you cross a border, and also take care of some business.
Tchüss,
-HELLER
This is a party to celebrate the year 1997.
The year that Daft Punk released Homework. The year that Titanic hit screens. The year that OK Computer was installed. The year that a T-Rex attacked San Diego. The year that Missy dropped Supa Dupa Fly. The year that Matt Damon asked “How do you like them apples?” The year The Spice Girls declared “Girl Power.” The year we entered The Fifth Element. The year that we couldn’t stop humming Mmmbop. The year that Cage bequeathed Con Air AND Face/Off (in the same month!) The year that Biggie passed. This was was probably an eventful year for you too.
This all happened twenty years ago.
Let’s relive the music, the drinks, the fashion, with DJs & live acts performing 1997 at ETA in Highland Park on May 20th, 2017
ETA Highland Park – 5630 N Figueroa St, Los Angeles, California 90042
Presented by ETA & HELLER
Heller.la 