Almost Christmas Prop Shoppe

Christmas: Anytime

by Kelsey Albro

Say it's April, you're lounging by your SoCal pool, have a bunch of money burning a hole in your pocket, and are just jonesing for some Christmas cheer RIGHT NOW. Have no fear! Ye Olde Almost Christmas Prop Shoppe can put a full size Santa sleigh in your living room and some joy in your heart. The shop mostly does rentals for commercials, television and movies or decorating for country clubs or the rich and famous. For us proletarians out there, a good wander through the shop ought to sate our y ... Continue

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Ivy's Flower Station

Operation Ivy

by Kelsey Albro

Ivy's Flower Station is full of more "cute" than you would ever expect to see in the Valley. The shop is housed in the 1920's gas station featured in the Andy Griffith Show-- and if the whole "greenery reclaiming industrial sprawl" thing doesn't get you, the way this place mixes old time charm with no-nonsense flower arrangements will. If flowers aren't your thing (or your lady friend's), try perusing their eclectic assortment of gifts and cards. On Saturdays Ivy's offers flower arrangin ... Continue

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NY&C Pizza

Pizza As It Should Be

by Emerson Dameron

It's billed as Atlantic Coast and Lake Michigan pizza under the same roof, which makes it pretty in-demand for this city of chagrined transplants. But you can only get the extra-wide NYC thin-crust by the slice; the Chicago-style deep-dish (which, to be just, is hard to find this good even in Chicago itself) comes only by the pie. And there are other peculiarities. Show up in the slow hours, and your pizza shows up quickly, almost abruptly, with a big, friendly acknowledgement. Show up when it's ... Continue

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Downtown Independent Theater

It's Bitter in the Movies

by Emerson Dameron

If you've been hurt, and you're looking for something to do with your spare time, and you're not already a cinephile, you can become one by showing up here whenever you've got a free evening. In the filthy heart of Downtown, free of Hollywood pretense, the DIT screens old stuff and new stuff, forgotten classics and urgent documentaries, Blade Runner, Bronson and beyond. It's got personality, and a bit more cynical bite than its westward contemporaries. This Valentine's Day, it scre ... Continue

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Upright Citizen's Brigade Theater

Let Kid Be Kids

by Emerson Dameron

If I were cursed with children, I'd require that they a) learn Spanish and b) take an improv class. Spanish is need-to-know shit right now, and there's no better way to loosen up, to throw off social conditioning, than doing improv. It's liberating. As much as its contemporaries resent it, UCB is, right now, at the top of LA's considerable improv heap. It's the most productive farm league for Saturday Night Live (When Lorne Michaels is done with them, they're pathetic husks--see them early), it' ... Continue

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Romantix Pasadena

Ol’ Dirty Sex Store

by Emerson Dameron

Do you fancy your sexuality a positive thing, a thing that, by rights, should not be weighed down with shame, sleaze and other societal baggage? Are you seeking a warm, welcoming place in which to explore your sexual drives, where your perfectly natural, human desires will not be stigmatized, where you can be horny without humiliation? This is not that place. While Los Angeles is famous for its friendly, relatively guilt-free sex shops ( ... Continue

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