Orange County News Blog

Christopher Victorio

Get outta the way, bitch!

​It's gettin' cold out there! Thankfully fun doesn't hibernate until spring in Orange County. But just in case you spent the weekend hiding beneath your blankets, let us fill you in on what you missed.

Chris Victorio's weekend literally skated by as he shot some spectacular photos of the OC Roller Girls playing their last home game in Huntington Beach. Think again if you thought roller derby competitions were solely a phenomenon of the Midwest or films like Whip It. Check out the all the hot wheels, women, and wipe outs by clicking here!

Keep reading to see more highlights from when we: visited amateur street skaters catch some major air at the eS Skate Games World Championship; let our creative juices flow at the Santa Ana Patchwork Festival; and hung out with some seriously snugly critters at the Pomona Pet Expo.

 

Continue reading " What You Missed: OC Roller"...

David Pond

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Keith May

Ruh roh.

​And just like that, the greatest holiday of the year is alllll over. So what'd you do? We had another action-packed weekend, of course, with our first stop at Long Beach's adorable annual tradition, the Haute Dog Howl'oween Parade and Pet Adoption Fair. Dogs? Way cuter than babies. See the proof here.

After the jump, find photos of badass gramps(es?) competing in the 2009 Southland Senior Olympics Surfing Competition, a bunch of bands from Korn and Shiny Toy Guns to Girl Talk at Halos 'n Horns and Tiger Army at the Grove of Anaheim. 

Keith May

Newport Beach Zombie Pub Crawl

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Okay, so a whooooole lot of things happened this weekend. Like a lot. First up was the Zombie Pub Crawl in Newport Beach, where tons of fabulous zombies dragged themselves to Newps for the first ever undead pub crawl. Sponsored by LocalHipster.com, the all-day event featured plenty of braaaaaaains and beer. See the full set of awesome photos by Keith May right here.

Andrew Youssef

OMGOMGOMGOMGBONO

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Now, after the jump: Many, many photos from UFC 104 and the UFC 104 After Party in Los Angeles, the Mitsuwa Marketplace Autumn Food Festival, Kid Sister at Detroit Bar... like we said, lots of things happened this weekend.

Spencer Kornhaber / OC Weekly

​The International Day of Climate Action came and went, and global warming has been solved. What? Oh, sorry. It's still a problem. But at least some people tried to do something about it.

This was true in Orange County. I stopped by the 350.org event in San Clemente on Saturday to see how they were possibly hoping to form a big human "350" on the pier. Turns out, they didn't. The guy who was going to loan San Clemente Green his remote-control helicopter camera for free got a better-paying gig at the last minute. Instead, everyone lined up on the beach (that's the pic I took above). I counted about 80 participants.

350 is the number of parts per million of CO2 that supposedly the Earth's atmosphere needs to return to in order to avoid catastrophic climate change. We're upwards of 390 right now.

Pics from other OC gatherings, drawn from 350.org's Flickr photo stream, below.

Doug Neill

​Is it really over? We stopped by a few places this weekend. Things got a little messy, as you can see up there. First, photog Doug Neill had a double-header on Saturday night and stopped by both the Shipwreck event at the Queen Mary and Reagan Youth at Alex's Bar in Long Beach... you can make your own crude jokes about zombies and old farts, if you'd like. Every year, the Queen Mary makes way for all sorts of spooky mazes filled with high school students in rubber masks. Check out the rest of the photos here.

After the jump: Legendary punkers Reagan Youth are back, and we witnessed it. Also, we made the trek to Los Angeles for Monsters of Folk at the Greek Theater--folksy supergroup with Jim James, M. Ward, Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis!? How could we not?

Chris Victorio

Dave Navarro being Dave Navarro.

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Keith May

Three Vs and a Kirby.

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A fun, fun weekend, friends: What'd you miss? First off: The first ever Long Beach Comic-Con! Comic books fans of all ages made their way to the first ever Long Beach Comic-Con at the Long Beach Convention Center this weekend, 10/2-10/4. Music Editor Albert Ching checked things out, read his round-up posts here! As for the rest of photos, which includes plenty of cute gals dressed up like yooooour favorite ever comic book heroine, are right here.

Keith May

Clever, ain't it?

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Aaaand after the jump: Brit garage rock/post-punk/shoegaze/whatever band the Horrors at the Glass House (with Costa Mesa's the Japanese Motors!), Disneyland's always popular Gay Days and kite surfers invade Long Beach.

Chris Victorio

Shawn Crosby plays a mean Obi-Wan, along with his authentic (!) Yoda puppet.

​Star Wars: In Concert stopped by the Honda Center in Anaheim on 10/01. The show continues again tonight, but will be making its way to a city not so far, far away near you soon. Check out StarWarsinConcert.com for a full schedule and more info.

Meanwhile, check out the best of attendees from last night after the jump--young Padawans and all sorts of other nerds (it's a good thing, promise!) in costume and ready to pay homage.

Seriously, what's scarier than an Insane Clown Posse fan? An entire venue of Insane Clown Posse fans. Observe:

Chris Victorio

We're scared.

​On Sunday night, 9/27, Insane Clown Posse visited the Grove of Anaheim. And it was uh, insane. A Faygo massacre. The photos, they scare us. Click here for a sea of wasted soda, really, really dedicated fans, tons of bad clown make-up and live shots of a group that's remained puzzlingly popular for what seems like a lifetime. Whoop, whoop.
 
 

John Gilhooley

Dolla dolla bill y'alllll: Davey Warsop, formerly of Beat Union, but now part of the Hurley family.

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Andrew Youssef

Keith May

​Hell yeah, is that fall weather we detect!? So what'd you miss this weekend? The Fourth Annual Boston Buddies Tea Party took place at the always dog-friendly (complete with dog menu!) Park Bench Cafe in Huntington Beach on 9/12. It's exactly what it sounds like: A whole lot of Boston Terriers and their adoring owners, with some food and doggie costumes thrown in there. Boston Buddies, Inc. is a non-profit organization dedicated to the rescuing and rehoming of Boston Terrier and Boston terrier mixes. See the rest of the adorable photos here.

Now: What else? Well, there was D23, the ultimate Disney fan expo, at the Anaheim Convention Center. It was four full-blown days of eveeerything Disney, from films to products to theme park news. We were, of course, there.  

Keith May

​IT'S ALL OVER! Long holiday weekend, we already miss you. So where were you this weekend?

Did you miss the OC Roller Derby killer hometown match? We didn't! The bad-ass gals of the Huntington Heartbreakers invited us out to their match on Saturday against Psycho Ex-Girlfriend (strikes fear in your heart, don't it?) and how could we say no? The Heartbreakers won the match, some injuries were procured--the norm at roller derby matches, obviously--but it was all worth it. Click here for the full slideshow, panties and booty shaking and all.

Next up: Schmoooze with Orange County's finest at the Wood Racket Classic in Costa Mesa and check out the boozy goodness of the annual Orange International Street Fair. 

Beth Stirnaman

Badass gramps.

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We had quite possibly the shittiest weather for a weekend full of outdoor activities--with temperatures reaching into the triple digits, we spent our weekend, well, kind of constantly moist. But that's okay: We trudged on. For you, our readers. For. You.

First up, on Friday and Saturday, OC Weekly photographer Beth Stirnaman braved the heat and hit up the San Diego Street Scene music festival. The two-day event featured everyone from M.I.A., Public Enemy (a brief side note: Chuck D said hello to us, still not over this, nope), the Dead Weather (blew all other bands out of the water!), Girl Talk, Silversun Pickups and more. See all the photos from the music extravaganza here and here! Wait. What's that you say? You want MORE Dead Weather? Well then, you should see our slideshow of their show at the Glass House last Thursday.

Beth Stirnaman

Chuck D and Flavor Flaaaaaaav!

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Now: Onward! What else did we do? There was the Orange County Beer Festival at Irvine Lake... 

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Keith May

Not a crook.

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So, what'd you miss this weekend? We had a (mostly) surf-related-filled weekend--a sure sign it's summer. And Orange County. But we're pretty sure you knew that.

Who hates summer as much as we do? What? No one? Sure there's always tons of things going on every day and every weekend during these warmer months--but you're also moist like, the whole time. Or is that just us?

It may have been 5,000-degrees out, but the weekend's events raged on regardless. From reminiscing with one of our favorite boy bands ever (what, you don't have one?) to watching a labrador retriever go down the line with more ease and comfort than any surf pro, we could barely decide on how to split our time over the weekend.

We know, we know--there's nothing more damn depressing than the end of a long holiday weekend. And it was a pretty perfect one at that: Sunshine, 80-something-degree weather, a cloudless sky. And now we're back to sunshine and 80-something-degree weather... but from behind your computer screen and your windowless cubicle. So. Sad. 

Former Weekly managing editor Rich Kane turns vlogger as he hits the mean streets of Costa Mesa to capture protesters outside President Obama's town hall at the Orange County Fairgrounds on Wednesday.

Among the pissed-off masses Rich encounters is Barbara Coe of the Huntington Beach-based California Coalition for Immigration Reform--or, as she informs Rich, "we were the Prop 187 people." Asked what she is doing there, Coe informs, "To send a message to Mr. Communist Obama, Mr. Pro-Illegal Alien Obama, that we are not going to stand by for another amnesty that he is proposing."

Coe also wanted to share her message with people passing by that Obama is a Hitleresque dictator who "will do everything humanly possible to destroy our country" and "enslave our children." She also mentioned that illegal immigration is responsble for our current economic condition--funny, when you consider that when times were good -- a.k.a. the Clinton years -- Coe was speading the exact same hate-filled message. Blaming illegals under all scenarios--it's the new aloha!

Among the others captured during the 9 1/2 minutes of video are a large, Fred Thompson-loving lady waving a "BOGUS POTUS" sign, an Amy Goodman-loving anti-war protester and an pin-selling entrepreneur, who, under Rich's intense grilling, fesses up that he is an Orange County Republican who voted for Obama.

They're out there, people.  

When I moved from a growing inland daily newspaper that was printing 70,000 copies to the shrinking Daily Pilot of Newport Beach/Costa Mesa that was printing 25,000 copies or whatever it was in 1989, the press on the other side of the wall from the newsroom quickly got up to top speed my first day and then just as quickly slowed to a stop. "Pre-run is over," I said out loud, having been my previous paper's bulldog editor who checks test copies and yells "Stop the presses!" over the din upon discovery of glaring errors. However, as I was informed by my new co-workers, that was not a pre-run, that was the entire run. Said the assistant city editor, as if reciting a marketing slogan, "The Daily Pilot: it's a quick read."

To the outside world in those olden days, the Pilot may have seemed to be in decline given the fewer copies of smaller papers with fewer ads and stories it was printing. But it was actually providing its busy readership a service with this faster format. Now, all Orange County dailies are in decline, so in that quick-read spirit comes this digest of what our busy readers would discover if they had the time, subscription or inclination to read them.   

Date: Sunday, Feb. 7*

Time: 2:05 a.m.

Location: Cartoon Network

Program: Tim and Eric's Awesome Show, Great Job

Segment: Tairy Greene's Acting Seminar for Children: Lesson 18 -- Working Without Limitations**

Setup: After working with a heavy-set boy confined to a wheelchair, acting teacher Tairy Greene (Zach Galifianakis) asks his young class members to name how many film locations without wheelchairs they can name.

CLASS: Huh?

GREENE: [Shouting] NAME A LOCATION THAT'S NOT HAD A WHEELCHAIR! Like we haven't had that question before. Remember last week?

UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: [Raising hand] Hollywood?

GREENE: No. [Points to boy] Kathy?

BOY: [Burping his answer] Al-ca-traz.

GREENE: [Points to girl] Kathy.

KATHY: Chapman University?

GREENE: Chapman University was in a horrible car accident two weeks ago and is in fact in a wheelchair. Ha-ha, very funny.

*This originally aired on Sept. 21, 2008

**The video above is not the same segment that was shown Sunday. But it's the same characters.

She opened Saturday night's show with a scowl and a simple "I really fucking hate Sarah Palin." It may seem obvious—particularly from a bleedin' heart lib, fag hag, Christian right-hatin' (and, notably: former Sunday school teacher) comedienne like Margaret Cho. She was met with cheers of course.

Cho is currently on her national tour called "Beautiful"—named so thanks to an asshole radio show host who asked Cho not too long ago, "What if you woke up tomorrow beautiful?" Obviously met with outrage, the host went on to pontificate: "You know, what if you woke up tomorrow and you were blonde and you had blue eyes and 5'11" and 100 lbs? What would you do?"

Cho's response? Well, first: "What do you mean what if?!," then: "Well, I probably wouldn't get up because I'd be too weak?"

The show was filled with all the expected topics: her being a slut, feminism, being an Asian-American, what happens to fag hags when it's "dick o'clock" at the gay bar, her fear of anal sex, her intense love for bears (not the animals), Britney Spears, her mom's accent, Jesus being a bottom... you know, the usual Cho fodder. The audience filled with Cho's dedicated fan base at the Long Beach Terrace Theater howled and hollered non-stop, pausing only to shout declarations of love—save for the silent elderly couple in front of me that sat stunned throughout the whole thing.

Also, it must be noted that Liam Kyle Sullivan opened up the show. You might know Sullivan better as his YouTube hit (with over 21 million views) compulsive shopper teenage persona, Kelly. Yes, Sullivan performed "Shoes" (which didn't exactly... translate well outside the realm of viral video) but only after strumming a tune on his guitar as Kelly's large chested lesbian Aunt Susan.

After the cut: a few favorite Margaret Cho moments from her previous tours. (NSFW, obviously.)

VH1's The Cho Show just aired its season finale, but you can still view all the episodes in full-length online here!

Full disclosure: I'm not much of a classical dance fan. I enjoy a sharply performed Robot, a good Pop-and-Lock, the occasional well-executed Worm. Por ejemplo:

C'mon, who could argue with that?

But when I heard the Kirov Ballet was performing at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, I decided to put aside my personal prejudices in an effort to expand my cultural horizons. After all, this is the Kirov we're talking about, not just any old ballet troupe. Opting out of seeing them because I've never been a fan of ballet would be like opting out of having dinner with Einstein because I've never understood quantum mechanics. For over 200 years of Russian political turmoil, the Kirov has soldiered on as a testament to their country's appreciation of the art form. Sure, they may not do the Running Man as much as one might like, but when it comes to classical dance, it would be an understatement to say they've pretty much got it nailed.

Friday night's performance of Giselle may have finally made me a ballet fan. Diana Vishneva (who also graced the Performing Arts Center's stage last February for Beauty in Motion) portrayed Giselle's heartbreak with a sincere and apparent passion. Her two co-stars, Andrian Fadeev as Albrecht and Dmitry Pykhachev as the woodsman Hans, more than held their own. But like I said, I'm no ballet critic. I can't tell you if they executed every step flawlessly or not or if they landed every jump the way it was intended.

What I can tell you is that when Ekaterina Kondaurova appeared during the second act as Myrtha, queen of the supernatural Wilis, floating across the beautiful artificially moonlit stage en pointe as though suspended in water, I was sold. When her band of Wilis emerged from the wings, executing their moves in synchronicity, I understood what all the fuss has been about. Physically grueling (I frequently can barely stand up on my own two feet, much less balance on my toes), technically precise, emotional and expressive, this was ballet as I can imagine it's meant to be seen—as fascinating, entertaining and affecting in its own way as the most bombastic krump. Mea culpa: I was blind but now I see. Now to try to get into this whole opera thing I've been hearing so much about.

Allen Baylis, you and your fellow nudie burgers just won the right to continue sunbathing in the buff at Trail 6 on San Onofre State Beach. What are you going to do next?

"We'll probably have a barbecue at the beach this weekend."

What, you thought they were going to Disneyland?

Baylis, a Huntington Beach attorney, naturist and city council candidate, made the skimp on the barbie remark to the Register, which got his reaction to Orange County Superior Court Judge Sheila Fell ruling for the Naturist Action Committee in its lawsuit against the state Department of Parks, which was set to enact a nudity ban at Trail 6 beginning this Labor Day weekend.

The suit accused the Parks Department of violating state procedure when they adopted the ban without seeking public feedback. I blogged about the flap here and followed up in print here. Baylis and Co. lodged their objections to that last piece here.

Fell reaffirmed a policy that extended back to the Jerry Brown administration that said nude beachgoers could only be cited if a member of the public complains.

While Parks regroups and figures out how to proceed, anyone who can find the 1,000-foot stretch nude beach is free to let it all hang out. ‘Cause if you don’t let it all hang out, the terrorists win!

Remember the sunscreen.

Local water officials, who are looking to Australia for expertise on how to survive one of the worst droughts in California's recorded history, hosted former Queensland Premier Peter Beattie at its monthly luncheon on Thursday, something that prompted Rupert Murdoch's Aussie papers to mock Beattie, the Block of Orange locale and the Orange County Water Association.

Beattie addressed our local water brigade in his capacity as the Los Angeles-based trade and investment commissioner for Queensland, his first position since leaving politics in September 2007 (undefeated, it warrants mentioning). He used his speech to invite the Orange Countians to southeast Australia's Queensland and “have a look at our water grid and desalination plant.”

In light of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's June declaration of a statewide drought emergency and forecasts for little rain the rest of the year, OC wetness producers have little choice but to take Beattie up on his invitation.

My goodness, what a weekend.

Friday night Dave Segal saw New York hipster/mashup DJ supreme Ayres of the Rub at Detroit Bar, Nate Jackson watched some disco dancin' at Sutra's first annual Dirty Disco Party, and Fever Dragon shot LA punk group X at the House of Blues.

While most of the OC Weekly's staff was busy partying it up with the open bar at Kona on Saturday, our steady young freelancer Nate Jackson was out working again. He reviewed The Growlers. Evidently they're pretty crap-tastic. And our newest photographer Chad Sengstock was out with the pop punk crowd watching Panic! At the Disco perform at the Honda Center.

Sunday found Edwin Goei doing what he always does, eating. This time it was Kyochon Chicken in Stanton. Apparently the food tastes like chicken. Who'd a thunk it?

The big news of the weekend was the OC Weekly's two wins at the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies Awards in Philadelphia. Gustavo Arellano took home the award for Best Column with "Ask A Mexican" while R. Scott Moxley bagged second place in the prestigious public service category for his coverage of the indictment of Sheriff Mike Carona.

The Ink and Iron Festival in Long Beach called out to Andrew Youssef who reviewed the Black Angel's performance and chatted up some of the tatted up ladies.

While Dave Segal went to the Secret Affair DJ night at Alex's Friday, where people danced to soul, garage-rock and mod-rock songs that were recorded before they were born. Then he went to the Santa Ana Art Walk on Saturday, and then to Memphis Cafe and the Crosby to check out the DJs at each establishment. Because he's cultured.

Disneyland has a new ride in the California Adventure park and we sent freelancer Gabriel Ryan to test that sucka out. And test it he did.

Almost as glamorous as a new Disneyland ride, was Nate Jackson's experience attending UCI's last performance of Reefer Madness, the musical tale of how pot ruins lives.

Because the folks over at The Register are obsessed with photos of cute things, Rich Kane called them out on how fucking stupid their current cute baby photo contest is. Almost as stupid as LOLCATZ speak. . .

Edwin Goei ate some kabobs at the House of Kabob in Lake Forest just for shits and giggles. Not so much the shits. Don't worry.

And because we're cool like that, we sent Ben Marcus went to Las Vegas to review The Sex Pistols only one US date on their current tour for Heard Mentality.