Month: June 2024

Every thrill ride at Six Flags Magic Mountain, ranked

Every thrill ride at Six Flags Magic Mountain, ranked

Published by Sam Flores

A risk for the top choice, as this coaster is not for the faint of heart. But since Magic Mountain prides itself on being a park for those seeking roller-coaster intensity, there’s an argument to be made that its top ride should be the one that arguably offers its most thrills, at least that was the one Thompson made to me. Yet you’ll be forgiven for skipping a ride in which seats rotate 360 degrees, forcing riders, at times, into face-first drops. And those rotations don’t stop, giving X2 its reputation for disorienting riders. The seats extend off the track, giving you a sensation of flight at its most chaotic; with an assortment of loops that suddenly shift direction and segue into drops, X2 aims to keep guests guessing as to where it is heading. Due to the constantly changing direction of the seats, the path of the track can be hard to discern. “There’s nothing else quite like it in the U.S.,” Thompson says of the coaster that, in its original form, opened in …

Leah Gallegos of People’s Yoga shares her 5 favorite Latino-owned businesses in L.A.

Leah Gallegos of People’s Yoga shares her 5 favorite Latino-owned businesses in L.A.

Published by Sam Flores

Leah Gallegos, co-founder of People’s Yoga, will always be grateful for how her neighborhood was as a kid. “If you’ve been to the recent Highland Park, that’s not the Highland Park I grew up,” she said, adding that her childhood was filled with memories of seeing the same street vendors and running into her neighbors at the park. Reflecting on her early experiences in the northeast neighborhood, she says she realizes it’s where she first felt the importance of community. “I took my first Chicano studies class at [East Los Angeles College]. We read ‘The House on Mango Street’ and I felt seen,” Gallegos, 39, said. “Later I joined a group that would become Las Cafeteras and we became very inspired by the Las Zapatistas movement about building autonomy and collective community-centered spaces.” She took what she learned as a member of the band and focused her efforts on bridging the gap between her community and a practice that helped her: yoga. Located in East L.A., People’s Yoga serves a community that didn’t have access …

Best Indonesian restaurants for delicious rendang in Los Angeles

Best Indonesian restaurants for delicious rendang in Los Angeles

Published by Sam Flores

Growing up, the moment I caught the aroma of ground chiles, garlic, ginger, galangal and other spices sizzling in hot oil, I knew my mother was making rendang. Preparing this fragrant Indonesian dish is no easy feat, requiring a melange of ingredients to create a rich, full-bodied dry curry. It’s steeped in coconut milk and slow-cooked for hours until the oil from the milk separates to caramelize the meat, rendering it unbelievably tender and enveloping each succulent piece in a spicy, unctuous paste. The flavor is intense, complex, unforgettable — no wonder there were never any leftovers when my mom made it. “Eating rendang is like enjoying a rich sake where there’s distinct top notes, a robust body and a lingering aftertaste,” says Eric Tjahyadi, owner of Bone Kettle restaurant in Pasadena. “That’s really the best type of rendang — one that takes you to places.” Originally a method to preserve meat in Indonesia’s tropical climate, it’s also a dish that you can take with you. “Due to its dry nature and natural preservatives like …

My Escape from the Taliban to Freedom

My Escape from the Taliban to Freedom

Published by Sam Flores

[ Adobe Stock | Maxim Chuev ] Muhammad  The following piece, written by “Muhammad,” details growing up under the Taliban rule in Afghanistan and his journey to atheism. I am Muhammad; but not that one, who was God’s representative. Rather, I am the Muhammad who left the prison of God’s faith and now tries to live as a free man with his new identity as an atheist. I was born in the southeast of Afghanistan in a region of the Ghalji tribe of Pashtuns, who keep the traditions of their ancestors from before Islam. It was during the first era of the Taliban regime.  I joined the Khost City branch school. The principal of the school was a Talib, and he told me that my name is non-Islamic and should be changed; then he took out a pen and first wrote Muhammad and then my given name. “Now your name has become Islamic.” From that day until the present, “Muhammad” has been my name. I also introduced myself here as Muhammad to hide my identity; …

Where to find the best Jamaican restaurants in Los Angeles

Where to find the best Jamaican restaurants in Los Angeles

Published by Sam Flores

The Jamaican patty, a cherished comfort food, offers savory and spicy island flavors in every bite. The pastry is most commonly enjoyed as a quick pick-me-up or light meal and eaten directly from a paper bag. The best patties are bursting with flavor and served hot from the oven. Traditionally, turmeric and/or curry powder give the crust its signature golden hue, a flaky texture is a must, and the filling is an aromatic mix of beef (or other preferred option) that’s enhanced by Scotch bonnet pepper, thyme and other herbs. The delicious fusion of spices and flavor lead back to Cornwall, England’s signature dish: the pasty, a pocket of dough filled with diced beef and vegetables. Thanks to the influences of African and East Indian communities in Jamaica during the 17th century, the English dish was reimagined into the savory baked good we know today. Fast-forward hundreds of years and the patties remain deeply rooted in Jamaican heritage — and an assertion of cultural pride for many Jamaican bakers who’ve left the island and created …

Santa Monica guide: The best things to do, see and eat

Santa Monica guide: The best things to do, see and eat

Published by Sam Flores

New York City has the Empire State Building, Hollywood has cutout letters strung across a hillside, and Santa Monica has its pier: a single, focus-pulling element that looms large in the public consciousness. So large, in fact, that it attracts an estimated 10 million tourists a year. Some come to ride the world’s only solar-powered, LED-covered Ferris wheel. Others come to complete a pilgrimage that began in Chicago — reaching the western terminus of historic Route 66. Get to know Los Angeles through the places that bring it to life. From restaurants to shops to outdoor spaces, here’s what to discover now. But there’s more to the roughly 8.3-square-mile city than that 1,651 feet of wood jutting out into the Pacific Ocean — much, much more. If you let your gaze wander away from the Ferris wheel, past the stretch of sand next to it and inland from the endless blue ocean, you’ll discover that the city at the end of the Mother Road was also at the beginning of aviation history. And, if you …

10 places in California to see wildlife in their natural settings

10 places in California to see wildlife in their natural settings

Published by Sam Flores

Best viewing time: Any time of year. The experience: California condors are a rare sight, but they’re easy to recognize if you’re lucky enough to get a close enough look. They’re black with white triangles on the underside of each wing, their heads bald, with colors ranging from pale yellow to orange. And they have the widest wingspan of any North American bird. In 1987 all wild California condors were captured, but after a captive breeding program, the species was successfully reintroduced to certain areas, including at Pinnacles National Park. Still, these animals are considered critically endangered. The park manages about two dozen condors, but these vultures have a large territory that extends beyond the park. One of the best trails to hike for a view of the condors is the High Peaks trail (marked on this map) from Bear Gulch. It’s a 6.7-mile loop and is considered a strenuous hike involving some steep and narrow rock steps, but the park has installed handrails at the most dangerous parts of the trail. While in the …

Great playgrounds in and around Los Angeles near coffee shops

Great playgrounds in and around Los Angeles near coffee shops

Published by Sam Flores

In this area of Santa Monica, convenient curbside parking is rarely available. But the intention of coming here is not so much ease as it is the accessibility to the sights of the Pacific Ocean, the thumping sounds of musical buskers and the old-time appeal of the iconic Santa Monica Pier. Sometimes a park day is about the ease of pulling your car up to a playground, letting the kids get their yayas out and going home. Coming to this side of town is experiential. It can be sensory overload with its tourists, midday brunch-goers and crescendo of car horns. Once inside the heart of Tongva Park, the soundscape is serene. Tucked away from Ocean Avenue, the park has an unexpected minimalist playground with hive-like structures, climbing walls and slides. Oh, the slides! The playground looks like an art installation that can be touched, jumped on and climbed — basically, it’s every kid’s dream. If you walk one block north along Ocean Avenue past the pier and the Ivy at the Shore and turn right …

Rebecca Grossman’s murder sentence disgusts mother of dead boys

Rebecca Grossman’s murder sentence disgusts mother of dead boys

Published by Sam Flores

For months, Nancy Iskander came to court hoping to get justice for her two young sons, who were struck and killed by philanthropist Rebecca Grossman as she drove her SUV through a Westlake Village crosswalk. Iskander offered graphic, wrenching testimony about witnessing Grossman’s Mercedes speeding toward the boys as they took a family walk in their neighborhood. At sentencing on Monday, she recounted how Grossman refused to apologize at the hospital that night. Now, Iskander says she is disgusted with how the case ended. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Joseph Brandolino on Monday sentenced Grossman to two concurrent terms of 15 years to life, with three concurrent years for fleeing the scene of the fatal crash. That means Grossman will serve 15 years to life. She had been facing 34 years to life in prison. “I feel this was a stab in the heart to me that he counted these two lovely boys as one kid,” said Iskander, who felt the sentences should have been imposed consecutively, one for each of her sons. “These are …