$5 RAVE: Pasadena Summer Solstice (6/20)

Does Pasadena know how to throw a rave? It did in Project X "Pursuit of Happiness" (music video)

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On the Summer Solstice of Saturday, June 20, 2026, from 7:00 to 10:00 pm the LAist is holding a rave at Remainders Creative Reuse. Total price of entry? $5.00 (five USD and 49 cent service fee).

Break out the rave gear and join Remainders Creative Reuse and LAist.com for a night of wild dancing, crafting, and community.

ALISON WONDERLAND trap, hip hop and bass DJ set in The Lab LA

(Kid Cudi) "The Pursuit of Happiness" (hopeless hedonism disappoints)

(Maskevito) Rave Music + footage (mainly early 1990s house mix)

It's on Washington Bl. west of Lake Ave.

DJ Tekfor will be on hand all night bumping the 90’s rave jams and all the other hits. And there will be not one, not two, but three crafting stations with instructors:

1. Make Your Own Junk Journal with Sarena
2. Circle Weaving with Courtney
3. Paper Mâché Sculptures with Aspen

• TICKETS: Craft Rave at Remainders w/ LAist
• LOCATION:
• Remainders Creative Reuse
• 787 E. Washington Blvd.
• Pasadena (LA), CA 91104

Shop — Remainders Creative Reuse - Creative Space & Thrift Store

Classes — Remainders Creative Reuse - Creative Space Thrift Store

Tove Lo "Habits (Stay High)" - Hippie Sabotage Rave Remix

What must non-Southern Californians imagine?

Already have a project in progress? Bring it along! Or if still looking for a spark, we’ll have a pop-up crafting table ready for everyone.

Whether a raver knits, collages, beads, sketches, or basketweaves, this is the perfect excuse to make something while soaking up the ravey 90’s vibes! Come as you are. (Bonus points will be awarded for 1990s-inspired outfits).

• PLAYLIST: Trip-Hop Vol. 2: Portishead/Massive Attack inspired mix [The Lounge Palace]

So get ready for a night of dancing, crafting, and fun. All ages. Families welcome. BYON (bring your own Narcan lol).

• Source: LAist.com

Trip hop is still a rave fave

(Pepito Tequila) Trip Hop Meditation? When the DJ spins Portishead's "Wandering Star"

 

COMMENTS

• 

  Can I sew my own outfit for EDC '27?

  Is this serious?!?! How...for only FIVE bucks?!
• It worked! It's SOLD OUT! You snooze, you lose.
• We wouldn't put anything past Larry Mantle or Pasadena's KPCC 89.3 FM and its long-running battle to seem more relevant than Madeleine Brand and Santa Monica's KCRW 88.9 FM.
• C'mon, everyone knows Larry is a [bleep]!
• That doesn't mean he doesn't put on a good show, what he claims is "the largest conversation in Los Angeles." Maybe NPR reporter Josie Huang wants to outdo science journalist... [Science bowl: Can NoHo… | KCRW]
• Who, Doualy Xaykaothao of NPR via KUNC?
• No, remember there was that Asian science journalist at KPCC and like the LA and Pasadena Weekly? She used to go to all sorts of parties, festivals, events, write about it, be on the radio all the time. Then KPCC booted her, KCRW picked her up? She lived in a small house in NoHo, the value of which kept going up, trapping her in LA.
• You mean Cary Harrison? He's over at KPFK (90.7 FM) on Friday morning, unless you mean Emily Kwong or these folks Honor Roll: Asian American Journalists Association? LMU?
• Oh, you must mean radio turned sex star Sandra Tsing Loh!

Puberty for adults: Brains On, LAist (5/14)

Thursday, May 14th, 2026, 7:00-8:15  pm at The Crawford (474 S. Raymond Ave., Pasadena 91105).

Get tickets priced from FREE to $25. Join Molly Bloom, host and creator of the kids' podcast company Brains On Universe, for a live panel about puberty. Featured guests include

• Dr. Cara Natterson, pediatrician, author, and founder of Less Awkward, a company designed to make puberty a less awkward and more joyful experience
• Dr. Christopher Miller, a clinical psychologist and the founder of The Boys’ Institute for Growth (BIG), which educates boys about puberty and facilitates healthy conversations between boys and their trusted adults.

The evening will feature a moderated discussion followed by a live Q&A designed to help parents prepare kids ages 7–11 for the changes ahead. More

• Brains On Universe presents…Puberty! (The podcast) | LAist

Spicy Book Club, sex with Christians

How conservative Christian views on sex have changed over the years

Thou shalt not enjoy thyself...or else.

Regardless of faith, having an intimate conversation with a partner can sometimes feel odd to broach. In the case of many Christian denominations, relationship to one's partner, through sex and similar intimate moments, only gets addressed after marriage. [That's usually a bit late, like it or lump it because now you can take it, but you can't leave it.]

Get far enough from toilet to avoid splash back.

Although it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, this lack of sex-centric discussions creates a difficult barrier for partners who want to be considerate but don’t know the best practices to do so. So what kind of professional help can assist, and how do faith-centric couples handle conversations tied to relationship intimacy? Join delicate host Lair "Bear" Mantle to share their expertise on the matter are sex therapists and educators Clifford Penner and Joyce Penner, who jointly operate the practice Passionate Commitment (passionatecommitment.com) in Pasadena. Resources

• AUDIO: LAFD Chief Jaime Moore speaks with Larry Mantle on changes post-Palisades Fire | LAist
• A Buddhist view? All I Want for V-Day is Sexy, Sadie
• VIDEO: My Dinner with Andre

First time watching porn: standup comedy by Michael Longfellow

Spicy romance novels as 'smut therapy'?

Penners, what about reading spice and smut?

(AOL/RIGBY) After seeing a viral TikTok about “spicy” bookstores, three local reading enthusiasts decided that eastern Idaho is in dire need of a way to spice up access to adult [c]literature.

Bailey Sutton-Moser, Mia Calderwood, and Rachel Moser -- three friends who share a love for reading -- came up with the idea to open Between The Covers after seeing an online video about an Arizona bookstore that specialized in selling romance books for women.

“I was like, ‘What if we just did this?'” Calderwood says. “We talked about it for an hour, and the next thing you know, we’re submitting for a business registration.”

Spicy, smutty, romance fantasy addiction?

Thanks to trends like BookTok, on TikTok, romance novels have become increasingly popular over the last few years, with viral obsessions like Quicksilver by Callie Hart, A Court of Thorns and Roses (series) by Sarah J. Maas, and Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yaros.

“A romance bookstore is a space that women can go into and just breathe for once,” Sutton-Moser says. “It’s a chance for women to break away from reality, to find books that appeal to our natures, and just relax.”

The owners say everyone is welcome at the bookstore, and it is not an adult business because it doesn’t sell adult items, although some content is age-restricted. More: aol.com

Cruisin' 2 Freedom (car show)

Cali car culture creeps into everything.

Join the Slave 2 Nothing® Foundation’s Cruisin’ 2 Freedom™ event to fuel the fight against human trafficking. This high-octane evening features a Car Cruise, Car Show, and Dinner – all designed to drive real impact! From vintage to 4x4s – this is your chance to showcase your car, cruise the California coastline, and raise funds to support the Slave 2 Nothing Foundation. All guests can take part in a raffle giveaway, bid on exciting silent and live auction items, and enjoy a Double-Double®, chips, and a drink from Cookout Trucks: Cruisin’ 2 Freedom | Slave 2 Nothing

• New romance bookstore aims to empower women one ‘spicy’ book at a time:
• January-March 2026: Self-Help Smut Club
• Black Cat Fables | Monrovia, California
• 3-6-2: DEFINITIONS: "Adult arcade" for sex
• ‘Spicy’ books like ‘Heated Rivalry’ are everywhere. Teens might want to read them

What about trans athletes?

Supreme Court hears arguments over transgender athletes in school sports

Colorful intersex flag (LGBTQIA+)

The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments today over state laws barring transgender girls and women from playing on school athletic teams. Lower courts ruled for the transgender athletes in Idaho and West Virginia who challenged the state bans, but the conservative-dominated Supreme Court might not follow suit. In the past year, the justices ruled in favor of state bans on "gender-affirming care" [gay-promoting treatment] for transgender youths and allowed multiple restrictions on transgenders to be enforced. The legal fight is playing out amid a broad effort by Pres. Trump to target transgender Americans, beginning on the first day of his second term and including the ouster of transgender people from the military and declaring that gender is immutable and determined at birth. Presented with files from the Associated Press.

Young Men Series: Dating is impossible!

Young men series: How they’re going about courtship

Can I borrow your credit card so that you can buy me a some presents? Then we can go out!

Why do I need to date girls? Honestly!

One recent week on AirTalk, man-loving Host Larry Mantel thought to explore the experiences of today’s young men in America, the issues impacting them, and the trends they’re bucking.

One of the major issues impacting them: loneliness (psychologytoday.com). One in four men report being lonely, according to Gallup. At the same time, they’re also not trying to make as many connections as their older peers, with nearly half of young men not even dating. (Gen Zs romance gap: Why nearly half of young men aren't dating).

This has led to some interesting data, namely that most young men are single whereas most young women are not single (thehill.com). So what’s going on with the dating scene? Why are young men seemingly struggling with courtship?

Joining Mantle to discuss these questions are Daniel Cox, director of the Survey Center on American Life at the American Enterprise Institute, a right-leaning think tank and Daniel Ellenberg, leadership coach, licensed therapist, and seminar leader.

• LISTEN: How are they going about courtship? (34:21)

I like to people watch rather than date, y'know?

One of those bucked trends is their views on religion. Historically, women have been more religious than men overall. But recent data from Pew Research suggests that Generation Z men are closing this gender gap and are becoming religious at rates near their women counterparts. So what’s behind the rise in religious young men, and will it last?

Joining Larry to answer these questions and more is associate professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University where he studies religious identity Ryan Burge and Reformed University Fellowship Campus Minister at the University of California, Irvine Derek Rishmawy.

• LISTEN: Young men series: why they are turning back to religion (25:19)
• Larry Mantle, AirTalk (laist.com), July 2025; Psychrypt on Schopenhauer and true love; The Ressurectionists, The 4,000-year-old secret behind the frog prince; Eds., Wisdom Quarterly

Six months since Los Angeles Fire

Altadena is in foothills on the edge of Angeles Forest. Pacific Palisades is swank beachside.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Kathryn Barger, oops, sorry, LA Mayor Karen Bass was busy

The LA Fire in Altadena and the Pacific Palisades is the costliest fire disaster in US history.

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It has been six months since the devastation touched Los Angeles, first with inexplicable winds then the common consequence, a California brush fire that spread all out of control. The cost of it may end up being a quarter trillion by some estimates. That seems impossible to believe because if it were true, how much better might that money be used?

Update from construction worker Adam Corolla

What was the cause in the Palisades Fire, a homeless campfire or a directed energy weapon deployed on some of the richest liberal real estate in the country? In Altadena it has become clear that the Eaton Fire was Southern California Edison's fault, according to conclusive forensic evidence gathered by attorneys Mikal Watts and Barbara Boxer's son (and Erin Brockovich) at lafirejustice.com.

SCE may be 100% to blame for starting it with their derelict transmission tower not being cared for, taken down, or secured and grounded to avoid this predictable outcome. But Mayor Bass, the lack of a reservoir, the fire department doing next to nothing, and no precautions being taken when the weather forecast perfectly predicted how bad the winds would be. Someone upstairs is to blame for not having enough precautions in place. It might be Kathryn Barger, but all eyes and targets are on Mayor Karen Bass and future president-wannabe Gov. Gav (Newsom). What does everyone claim the cause of this (Paradise/Camp-style) Fire was? Embers.

(KTLA News) 'Rancho Fire' threatens homes in Laguna Beach

• LA Mayor Karen Bass scrutinized as California wildfires rage: Where was she, and why didn't she cover city in advance?
• Mayor Karen Bass confronts ICE in LA | FOX 11 LA
• VIDEO: New kind of fake quicksand snow in China?

What caused the Eaton Fire?

(KCAL News) Lawyers claim new video shows SoCal Edison towers sparking Eaton Fire

It's as if Vulcan, the god of fire, burned part of Los Angeles back to the stone age.

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No time to cry for LA after TX flood

Trump to phase out FEMA after DOGE may have contributed to this mess

California Coastal Cleanup Day (9/21)

Inland waterways are next. See calendar

(LAist) It’s one of the biggest days of the year for the ecologically minded.

Thousands of volunteers across Southern California will come together on the morning of Saturday, Sept. 21, for the annual California Coastal Cleanup Day.

Last year, volunteers removed 376,308 pounds of trash from Cali beaches and waterways across the state, according to the California Coastal Commission, including 10 tons of debris in Los Angeles County and 12 tons in once filthy Orange County.

The cleanup provides insights into what’s being thrown away in Southern California or, more accurately, what’s being littered. Cigarette butts are the most commonly found item, though plastics and Styrofoam are becoming more common, according to the nonprofit Heal the Bay.

We've got a tropical blond surfer reputation

That’s despite the state’s efforts to cut back on the use of these items. In case anyone is wondering, those new rules are still being phased in as of this year.

If volunteers can’t make it to the beach but still want to help, consider volunteering at one of the inland cleanup sites listed below, because those “No dumping, Drains to ocean” signs on storm drains aren’t lying.

Today wasn't really convenient, so there are other options:

Heal The Bay

Heal has relaunched their monthly Nothin' But Sand clean-up events, which happen on the third Saturday of every month. By the way, the organization expects to cross 2 million pounds [2,000 lbs. is one ton] of trash picked up over the 35 years it's been managing Coastal Cleanup Day for L.A. County.

How to sign up

Some organizers just want volunteers to show up and help out, no sign up required — and beachgoers can always pick up trash wherever, whether or not it’s at one of these official sites.

However, others are requesting that volunteers register in advance to get an accurate headcount. A few of the more hands-on cleanup sites require boats or other special equipment.

To find more information for each site, including contact information and signup details, find it on THIS MAP from the California Coastal Commission.

Here's a list of the cleanup sites for this Saturday: 10 tons of trash were found in LA beaches, and everyone can help clean it up this Saturday (LAist.com)

Zen refuge: Huntington Botanical Garden

Asian garden pavilion sits on a lily pond with lotus flowers as tall pines, bamboos, and plum blossoms surround it: The lovely Lotus Pavilion (Martha Benedict/The Huntington/LAist.com)

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Huntington Botanical Gardens in a new light

The Tao or "way" of Zen is [easy].

The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens is opening evening access to its Twilight Garden Strolls hours during the summer months so more people can enjoy the gardens in cooler temperatures. Previously, only members could get tickets to the special program.

Why the Huntington is extending hours: “Opening in the evening allows us to welcome more visitors who can enjoy green spaces and see our gardens in quite literally a different light,” said Director of Membership and Visitor Services at the Huntington Kristin Voss.

The program has been such a success for members that the Huntington is now expanding ticket access to the general public.

The cultivation of stillness, silence, absorption

• [EDITOR SEVEN: What is "Zen"? In English it means "flow state," "effortless creativity," "artless artfulness," "unpremeditated spontaneity," "calm," "ease," but in Japanese it comes from the Chinese Chan (channa), which is an attempt to pronounce the Pali jhana (from the Sanskrit dhyana), all of which mean "meditative absorption." If meditation in English means flapping our wings to get in the air, efforting to alight off a branch in a tree on a cliff, in Buddhist terms it is the bhavana or "cultivation" of the subsequent effortless soaring. Just let go of the branch.

• 

  What if? - Don't do that to yourself. Be here now
  

  We make an effort (dharana) to let go, allow, let it be, accept what is, breathe being aware only of that breathing, which keeps us in the present moment, not reacting to whatever arises but merely observing, not falling into the habit of escaping to the past and dragging it into the present, not leaping into the habit of escaping into the future and dragging it into the present, staying only here and now mindful (present with) of the present, watching, and remaining watchful.

• 

  Thinking is not the way. Let go. See. Allow.

  It is the nonabandoning of the moment, the nondistraction from the object, the following this very moment into calm presence, unification of mind, stillness, coherence, which are ways of saying samadhi. First there was the subject (me) and the object (what was observed). Then, for a moment, they were one; that is, there was no distinction. They merged, one absorbing into the other. It was so Zen.]

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What’s different about the gardens in the evening hours: With the shift in temperatures and lighting, the gardens take on different sights, smells, and sounds.

One can see the campus during the “golden” or “magic” hour -- a favorite time for photographers when the sun is just about to set and casts an ethereal quality on plants and flowers.

Rose Garden Tempietto, Huntington Botanical Gardens (The Huntington)

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“The Desert Garden is one of my favorites,” said Voss. “There's something really lovely about the unusual shapes and colors matched with the warm tones of sunset during summer.”

How to take a tour after hours: This year, the Huntington has added Twilight Garden Estate Tours, a docent-led walk through many of the gardens and looks at some of the historic architectural features, on campus.

Docent leads Twilight Garden Estate Tour at Huntington Botanical Gardens (The Huntington)

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When and how to attend: There are three Twilight Garden Strolls left scheduled for the summer, but they will return. Hours are 4:30-8:00 pm. Reserve tickets ONLINE for $20.00. Tickets to the Estate Tours cost an additional $25.00. More: LAist.com

Wise quote and Zen comic art by Roshi Brad Warner, Angel City Zen, Los Angeles (WQ)

• Julia Paskin/LAist.com, July 21, 2024; CC Liu, Ashley Wells (eds.), Dhr. Seven (explanation of Zen), Wisdom Quarterly

Hypnosis treats many ailments (LAist)

Dr. Spiegel, host Larry Mantle, AirTalk; Pat Macpherson, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Hypnosis has been used [successfully] to treat many ailments, but it still has a reputation to battle

Scientists are inching closer to understanding how hypnosis can be used as a treatment for digestive disorders like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel disease.

Though its reputation hasn’t always been credible, hypnosis research dates back to the 1770s, when “Mesmerism” was being tested to treat all kinds of ailments.

Today, we know much more about hypnosis, also called "hypnotherapy." It is used to treat

• sleep problems,
• chronic pain,
• depression,
• anxiety

and unlike so many other allopathic treatments out there, research suggests that hypnosis is often cost-effective and free of harmful side-effects.

Joining AirTalk today to discuss how hypnosis is used and how it compares to CBT and other psychotherapy techniques is TKTK and Prof. of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science David Spiegel, from the Stanford University School of Medicine. AUDIO:

• LAist: NPR News for So. California, 89.3 FM (kpcc.org)
• Overcrowded animal shelters across the US
• Sleeping pods part of homeless solution like Reno
• Teen mental health decline from too much info?
• NBA season tournament quarterfinals
• Embarrassing objects of emotional attachment

The Florentine Codex at Getty Center (11/4)

Adolfo Guzman-Lopez, LAist.com; Crystal Quintero, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Older Aztecs were told to describe and draw their culture for a friar aiming to convert them.

To celebrate the launch of the Digital Florentine Codex, join LAist for an outdoor concert debuting an original score by musician Lu Coy (they/them).

• VIDEO: What is the Florentine Codex? | History, language, illustrations (study.com)
• Florentine Codex | Getty Projects
• General History of the Things of New Spain by Fray Bernardino de Sahagún: The Florentine Codex. - Volume 1 | Library of Congress (loc.gov)
• This version of the Códice Florentine is based on the version of the codex held in Florence as well as on the summary of the original codex, Primeros memoriales, held in the Bibliotheca de Palacio, Madrid, Spain. The four volumes reveal a Catholic friar's attempt to understand Native American culture, plants, medicine, and language by encouraging older men to draw in the traditional style of the Mexicas (pronounced \meh-chi-kas\, the Mesoamerican tribe from which Mexico derives its name). There are many images that accompany the text. The images of Malinche portray her with her hair tied up on her head unlike her images in El Lienzo de Tlaxcala. Florentine Codex | AHA (historians.org)
• Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023, 4:00-5:30 PM
• The Getty Center
• 1200 Getty Center Drive, Brentwood
• TICKETS ($0) needed

The Florentine Codex is a Spanish conquest text

Known for their mastery of woodwinds, electronics, and agile vocals, Coy mines inspiration from ancient texts, stories, and musical traditions, guiding audiences through splendid architectures of ancestral memory.

Musical group Xochi Cuicatl (it/what) and Chris Garcia (he/him) will open the performance.

Introducing the performances is LAist higher education correspondent Adolfo Guzman-Lopez (he/him) and Getty Research Institute researcher Kim Richter (she/her).

They will discuss the historical resonances of the Florentine Codex in Southern California, the ancestral homeland of the Kizh/Gabrieleño/Tongva, Chumash (Malibu), and Tataviam (SFV) people, as well as the Codex’s impact on numerous Indigenous groups throughout the Americas.

• Site & Sounds: The Florentine Codex at the Getty Center | LAist

ABOUT

• Lu Coy (they/them) is a Los Angeles-based LGBTQ mixed-media artist and multi-instrumentalist of Mexican and Ashkenazi Jewish heritage. Coy frequently collaborates with other musicians and holds degrees in music performance and composition from the Boston Conservatory of Music and California Institute of the Arts. They have taught for institutions such as the Hammer Museum, California Institute of the Arts, and Plaza de la Raza.
• Chris Garcia and Xochi Cuicatl are musicians specializing in Indigenous breath, string, and percussion instruments of Mesoamerica and Mexico, including pre- and post-invasion poetry and songs in Nahuatl, Purepecha, Spanish (the language of the colonial invaders), and English.
• Host Adolfo Guzman-Lopez is an award-winning correspondent on Southern California Public Radio (scpr.org), LAist 89.3 FM, and host of The Forgotten Revolutionary podcast. He has reported on education, politics, arts, and higher education.
• Kim Richter is senior research specialist at the Getty Research Institute and leads the Florentine Codex Initiative.

Huge Olmec monumental stone heads from ancient Mexico 1400-400 BC, colossal masterworks | eBay