Month: December 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 …