Native Intelligence

Observations on Los Angeles and beyond by LA Observed authors and invited guests
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Night vision: Mean streets of Silver Lake

party aftermath.jpg The aftermath of a teenage party over the weekend in the Silver Lake hills.

Are we all paparazzi now?

paparazzi2-iris.jpg It's debatable which came first, the insatiable desire to document the famous or the need for the masses to see endless images of celebrities caught acting like normal people. But the Internet, the money to be made and the ease of picture-taking technology have changed everything. Thus a panel discussion at the Getty in conjunction with the exhibit, "Portraits of Renown," celebrity portraits dating back to the 1800s.

LA Phil rolls out the red carpet for old friend Simon Rattle

Simon-Rattle.jpg Back in the day, before his curly top turned white, Simon Rattle was an enormously gifted principal guest conductor of the LA Philharmonic. That was an earlier golden era — well before this one headed by the spirited, infectious Gustavo Dudamel. We cannot forget any of those from the '80s.

May 19-20: 'Sportsageddon' in Downtown L.A.?

The traffic forecast for people coming Downtown this weekend is "crowded" — although fans of the Kings, Lakers, Clippers, and Dodgers may not mind all that much.

Where are all the iTaxes?

Steve-Jobs-apple-100.jpg If we had a prize for Most Celebrated Business Hero in America, it would have to be Steve Jobs, the late founder of Apple. But Apple's vaunted founder's business practices are starting to sound retrograde, and, worse, bad for American workers, students and local governments. How...cool.

Only in LA: Tough town to park in *

steve-harvey-face.jpg Even the authorized get towed in LA. Plus: a land of extremes, and some road signs are just plain wrong.

De-bugging Mother's Day

Mothers Day Flowers-spotted-LAX May 2012 053.jpg In advance of Mother's Day, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers are on high alert for bad guys hiding in the flowers. Los Angeles is the number two port of entry for flowers imported during the Mother's Day season.
orson-welles-cbsmic.jpg Chances are, the recent passing of author and biographer Charles Higham escaped your notice. He left no survivors. I felt a twinge of sadness when I read about his lonely death, and it's mostly about Orson Welles.
street-dogs-staples.jpg Over the past decade, the American obesity epidemic has provoked a wide range of possible solutions, from soda-pop bans in elementary schools to salad bars in high school cafeterias. Here are some better ideas for LA from visiting blogger Greg Critser, author of "Fat Land: How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World."

Only in LA: Toughest joint in town?

sh-doornotinuse.jpg Steve Harvey's slightly bent observations on the city around us. This time: must be a good burger in the Grand Central Market, the bias against actors never fully goes away, and at home with two right feet. Plus much more.

Admiring LA's Center for the Study of Political Graphics *

cspg-vietnam-iris.jpg Carol Wells began collecting political posters on a 1981 trip to Nicaragua. She has amassed an impressive collection of works that chronicle labor and political movements filtered through the prism of art and activism. "Posters are a very efficient and powerful way of teaching history," she says.

Labor of laboratory love

Living Wall-NHM.jpg The L.A. County Natural History Museum looks forward to opening its public field site in time for the museum's centennial celebration next year. Here's an early glimpse inside the 3½ acres of fauna-hosting flora reclaimed from a parking lot in Exposition Park.

Record Store Day 2012 at Amoeba Hollywood

amoeba-recordday-bins-srr.jpg Scenes from Saturday's release of dozens of new vinyl recordings at the Amoeba Music store on Sunset Boulevard.
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Simon-Rattle.jpgThe former guest conductor came back to guide the LA Philharmonic for a night. "Their concert together was fabulous," writes Donna Perlmutter at Native Intelligence.
crescent-city-iris.jpgCrescent City is a "fantastical tale of a mythical city destroyed by one hurricane and the voodoo priestess determined to save it." It opened Thursday night at Atwater Crossing and runs through May 27. "Isn't art really about learning to live your life?," asks director Yuval Sharon. Photo for LA Observed by Iris Schneider.
Gallery
Night visions
TheClock-NightVision.jpg The midnight line outside LACMA's showing of "The Clock." More Night visions by Iris Schneider.
Discovering Francesca Woodman
francesca+woodman+lacma+mouth.jpg Meet the youngest artist included along with Frida Kahlo, Louise Bourgeois and Louise Nevelson in LACMA's exhibition of surrealist women. Judy Graeme
Wim Wenders on Pina
wim+wenders+900h+iris.jpg The filmmaker discusses his friend Pina Bausch.
Bill Cunningham at work
Bill Cunningham working Getting to know the street photographer Bill Cunningham, after all these years.
Video gallery
City Ballet of Los Angeles
LA Observed goes behind the scenes at a ballet company housed in a Salvation Army center near downtown. Native Intelligence
California Design 1930-1965
Inside the preview day for a major exhibition.
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