Year: 2022

Unpredictable 2022: Mostly devastating losses, with one bright surprise

Unpredictable 2022: Mostly devastating losses, with one bright surprise

Published by Sam Flores

I learned to expect the unexpected a very long time ago. That means I plan, but I don’t really plan. I have faith in people but don’t really have faith in people, because just like plans and the weather and political leaders and coworkers and our waistlines and our favorite watering holes, they change. With that acknowledged, I still entered 2022 with a standard bingo card in mind, or rather a mindless list of expectations for the year that weren’t too farfetched: Billionaires would keep their money, artists from my heyday would reemerge with Christmas albums or reality shows, and longtimers in Congress would remain constant. And like every year, I was wrong, wrong, wrong. “You know your boy on that stuff again,” my childhood friend Darnell told me on a phone call. “He checks himself into rehab, and then comes home and do the same sh*t, over and over again.” That was February. The call started to be about my birthday plans but quickly turned into the Rod show. What’s Rod up to, why is Rod getting high, …

A podcast lays out the tale of the twins who brought down El Chapo, in their own words

A podcast lays out the tale of the twins who brought down El Chapo, in their own words

Published by Sam Flores

In “Surviving El Chapo: The Twins Who Brought Down a Drug Lord,” rapper and businessman Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and journalist Charlie Webster help guide listeners through a conversation that they have with twin brothers Pedro (Peter) and Margarito (Jay) Flores, drug dealers and federal informants whose cooperation led to the indictment of Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán and many others. The first season of the podcast, which premiered Oct. 19, is 12 episodes long. The final episode will be released Dec. 21 and is produced by Lionsgate Sound and G-Unit Audio in collaboration with iHeartPodcasts. Speaking publicly for the first time, the brothers tell the story of how they grew up in Chicago and were groomed in the ways of illegal drug trading by their father. That life led to another life of on-the-run adventures and many brushes with death. In their own words, they take listeners step by step through their harrowing tales of being kidnapped, finding love, using McDonald’s as a business template and getting the incentive to cooperate with …

Hall of Fame: The most iconic restaurants in Los Angeles

Hall of Fame: The most iconic restaurants in Los Angeles

Published by Sam Flores

2019 Hall of Fame Vicente and Connie Cossio founded Coni’Seafood in the late 1980s in the backyard of their Inglewood home, eventually growing the small marisqueria into what would become Coni’Seafood, a restaurant that probably has done more than any other to popularize classic Nayarit-style coastal cooking in Los Angeles. Bring friends and order the pescado zarandeado, crisp-edged, slow-grilled snook marinated with fresh citrus, chiles and mayonnaise. If you favor bold flavors, the aguachile — big, head-on shrimp marinated in a spicy citrus marinade — is excellent. For pure comfort, try the snacky fried tacos stuffed with smoked marlin, or the tostaditos, mini tostadas paved with a marlin pâté and layers of minced shrimp and octopus. Second location at 4532 S. Centinela Ave., Los Angeles, (310) 881-9644. Source link

Will Smith perfected blockbuster success, but his Oscar-worthiness is tougher – slap or no slap

Will Smith perfected blockbuster success, but his Oscar-worthiness is tougher – slap or no slap

Published by Sam Flores

The story of Will Smith cracking the code to becoming one of the world’s biggest movie stars is a staple of Hollywood lore, but in case you’ve never heard of it, here’s the short version. Early in his career, he and his manager James Lassiter sat down and analyzed what the top 10 box office successes had in common. Once they boiled down the different variables, they landed on three traits that drew audiences to theaters: special effects, creatures and a love story. Molding this equation to suit Smith meant presenting the figure people had embraced in the 1990s hit sitcom “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” and the 1995 buddy cop hit “Bad Boys” to create a box office hero that hadn’t been hyped since Eddie Murphy’s heyday. Smith couldn’t easily crack the unspoken awards season code without messing up the Will Smith brand. Between 1996’s “Independence Day” and 2008’s “Hancock,” Smith ruled summertime, and the Fourth of July holiday specifically. He still holds the record for the most consecutive $100 million-plus hits at the …

Changing “Interview with the Vampire” made it more alluring while staying true to its spirit

Changing “Interview with the Vampire” made it more alluring while staying true to its spirit

Published by Sam Flores

Many debates concerning TV adaptations of famous literature eventually come around to whether some of major changes add to the lore or detract from it. Walking that line is tough for showrunners, who are essentially tasked with remaining faithful to the original, beloved plot without committing some small screen equivalent of taxidermy. A successfully adapted work from existing I.P. should be a vision that is expressly televisual, familiar to fans and yet a work unto itself, able to be enjoyed whether you’ve consumed the work that inspired it or are coming in cold. There are some shows, such as Neil Gaiman’s “The Sandman,” that use the source material as a storyboard directing elaborate visions to come to life while making a few casting adjustments that honor the story’s spirit without altering the plot too much. Maybe this is simple fan service. On the other hand, maybe this is also realizing a long-deferred dream fans have had since the comics were first published. Either way, it works. Then we have AMC’s adaptation of “Anne Rice’s Interview …

Mexican Mafia’s money-making operation in L.A. County jails

Mexican Mafia’s money-making operation in L.A. County jails

Published by Sam Flores

p]:text-cms-story-body-color-text clearfix”> The authorities were listening when Ramon Amaya called his wife from the Pomona city jail. Amaya, a gang member nicknamed Happy, said on a recorded line that he hoped a judge wouldn’t release him before he was sent to the county’s main lockup in downtown Los Angeles. Classic stories from the Los Angeles Times’ 143-year archive “I’m gonna tell the judge, ‘F— you, keep me,’ ” Amaya said, adding that he’d “spit in his face” to make sure he was kept in custody. And he complained about the “nasty” macaroni he’d been fed in jail. “I should stop eating,” he told his wife, “because I’m going to have to s—.” To authorities investigating the drug trade in the jails, Amaya’s words made sense. After getting his wish to be transferred to Men’s Central Jail, Amaya was caught smuggling about two grams of heroin and seven grams of methamphetamine. The inmate had hidden the drugs “inside his anal cavity,” an FBI agent testified, “and he didn’t want anything to disrupt that” — either a …

Where to find the best hot springs in California

Where to find the best hot springs in California

Published by Sam Flores

Before you can hike and soak at Santa Barbara County’s highly popular Montecito Hot Springs, you’ll need to arrange a ride-share or grab an early parking spot — probably before 9 a.m. (There are only eight or nine spots at the Hot Springs Canyon trailhead, and curbside parking is scant in this neighbor.hood of gated mansions.) Next you hike 1.2 or 1.3 mile upslope among boulders, oaks and a meandering creek, gaining about 800 feet of altitude and crossing the creek at least once near the end. The path can be challenging and busy, especially on weekends. Also, there are no bathrooms or trash cans on the trail or at the springs. Near the pools, you’ll pick up the scent of sulfur and see a hand-lettered CLOTHING OPTIONAL sign. Arriving, you’ll see a series of spring-fed pools of varying temperatures, some only a foot or two deep. These pools, as a Los Padres National Forest told me, have been created by “trail gnomes,” no government entities involved. Thus, the pools get rearranged from time to …

Sign up to House to Home: our free interiors email

Sign up to House to Home: our free interiors email

Published by Sam Flores

Upgrade your space today, with eight emails packed with tips to brighten up your home – whatever your budget Embrace your space: the Guardian’s House to Home newsletter is bursting with tips and tricks to help you boost your bedroom and give your living room some love. Sign up any time, and get eight emails direct to your inbox every Sunday morning. Continue reading… Source link

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Sign up for the Guide newsletter: our free pop-culture email

Published by Sam Flores

The best new music, film, TV, podcasts and more direct to your inbox, plus hidden gems and reader recommendations From Billie Eilish to Billie Piper, Succession to Spiderman and everything in between, subscribe and get exclusive arts journalism direct to your inbox. Gwilym Mumford provides an irreverent look at the goings on in pop culture every Friday, pointing you in the direction of the hot new releases and the best journalism from around the world. Explore all our newsletters: whether you love film, football, fashion or food, we’ve got something for you Continue reading… Source link