Tips for Hungry Brits

Dear Readers: U.K.’s spectacular Guardian newspaper has asked if I could field some questions for their readers as part of the paper’s summer travel package — turns out Brits want to know more about Mexican food! Let’s be benevolent toward those buggerers: Their idea of what our comida constitutes comes…

Abtahi and Kingston: Who’s the bigger SOB?

Heard an interview with some actress on the radio recently talking about how she chain-smoked and behaved badly in college, causing her to lose a lot of weight and wake up incredibly beautiful one day. She said it gave her the confidence she needed to become a movie star. I…

Last Shot: Telling Your Friends You Have Cancer

Lindsey BestAndrew Youssef [Editor’s Note: Longtime concert photographer Andrew Youssef found out almost two years ago that he had Stage IV Colon Cancer. In that time, he has continued to shoot tons of music events for our sister paper OC Weekly on top of other freelance work and working a…

Focusing on Dallas Finds Some Good, Some Bad and Nancy Brinker

Now that we’ve given up hope that state or federal governments will ever do us any good, the focus is on cities. So what about Dallas? The Brookings Institution is offering us advice as part of its “Global Cities Initiative,” telling Dallas to concentrate on education, exports and sister cities…

A Guide To Road Tripping to Concerts

It occurs to me this country is quite spaced out. Not in the drugs sense, although God knows that happens too, but in the sense it is really quite large. I mean, have you seen a map? That shit is humongous. Furthermore, there are only so many places poor overworked…

Tips for Rick Perry’s Next Campaign: Stop Being Such a Lefty

Good read by Jay Root in The Texas Tribune today about whether Governor Oops will run for re-election as governor of Texas or run for something else, who knows what, president of France, whatever. Root suggests it will be the governorship again for Oops, and he talks some about other…

How Cancer Has Changed the Way I Photograph Concerts

Lindsey BestAndrew Youssef [Editor’s Note: Longtime concert photographer Andrew Youssef found out almost two years ago that he had Stage IV Colon Cancer. In that time, he has continued to shoot tons of music events for our sister paper OC Weekly on top of other freelance work and working a…

Do I Tell My Friends About the Abuser in Their Band?

Are you a musician? Is your group having issues? Ask Fan Landers! Critic Jessica Hopper has played in and managed bands, toured internationally, booked shows, produced records, worked as a publicist, and is the author of The Girls’ Guide to Rocking, a how-to for teen ladies. She is here to…