Could pop and alt rock fans from LA and the OC ever be interested in seeing acts like Sublime, Jack White, Olivia Dean (Queen of the Summer), Khruangbin, or Coco & Breezy without a long drive through the desert stuck in traffic with building anticipation?
Goldenvoice is betting locals would. There's a new "Coachella" by the same outfit that runs the one in the desert (as well as country and Western themed Stagecoach), but this one is going to be in Santa Monica, the Ocean Way Festival.
Register for access. Tickets go on sale Thursday, July 23rd, at 11:00 am (Pacific Time). Register now to receive a presale code and link to purchase tickets. For help registering, email: register@goldenvoice.com.
It's a prom for adults (21+) and a great chance to relive having missed it in high school.
.
WHAT HAPPENED?
Jeremiah was not a bullfrog.
Morongo is an Indian casino complex, and the ballroom was rented out so Woody could relive his frustrated childhood. He missed his prom because he was working and determined to have a career in radio. Now that he has it, gosh darn it, he's going to have a prom experience, even as a fat, depressive radio personality with waning ratings compared to the competition he and lackeys face in Los Angeles. But they're heard around the country and online through iheart.com. It started at 7:00 pm, a lot of people were dressed up, and the others were at least wearing joke tee-shirts that looked like tuxedo fronts. An amazing close-up magician named Jerimiah "Jer Bear" DeMatteis wowed the crowd with impossible feats of sleight of hand and stage magick (that may have had demonic assistance because it can't be explained, like a signed playing card ending up two stories up against the ceiling after it had just been all over the deck with a possibly buzzed Greg Gory holding a bag of Funyuns). DJ Tim played.
Jewish Co-Host Gina Grad behaved neurotic AF. Spaz band played. People played. It ended up being better than last year's. Sadly, Chubs Menace was there, using his phone to zoom in on the card on the ceiling. The gays were making time with him, and then he disappeared. He was as gone as Morgan, vomiting in her car, drunk as a furry black and white animal that stinks, missing three hours of the prom. Rick showed up too early and claims he left disgruntled, having asked the concierge where the big party was and not having the sense to plan ahead. Most people, coming in from all over the country, got hotel rooms at Morongo. "If you fail to plan, [it must mean] you plan to fail." Everyone knows that, even Bork and Menji.
Prom update news. It may not even be worth going now. Miss Sammi Marino's new boyfriend, Steamboat Willie, won't let her go. He's planned a family outing to Disneyland with his parents, so she's out. Guess there's always Mel' Morgan, not the pornstar, but the Mellow Melancholy One, the Lucy Goosey grrrl boxer. And Chubs Menace is sure to be snacking on something stup*d.
I was looking forward to it, Woody!
The prom is on for Saturday, June 6th, 7:00 to 11:00 pm at Morongo Casino Resort & Spa. It's free, and all are welcome. We’re taking a trip back in time, back to the ultimate prom night with 1980s cover band The Spazmatics, DJ J. Espinoza, and special guest magician Jer Bear performing close-up magic throughout the event.
Dress to impress for a chance to win prizes for Prom King, Prom Queen, Best Dressed, and more. No spiking the punch. Book a room at Morongo Casino Resort & Spa. Good times, so it's 21+. Dressing up not required but encouraged. No RSVP required.
A prom or promenade is a formal dance party for graduating high school students at the end of the school year [1, 2]. Students participating in the prom will typically vote for a prom king and prom queen [3] and/or a prom pandaka (LGBTQIA+).
Other students may be honored with inclusion in a prom court. The selection method for a prom court is similar to that of homecoming queen/princess, king/prince, and court.
Inclusion in a prom court may be a reflection of popularity of those students elected and their level of participation in school activities such as sports or clubs [4, 5].
The prom queen and prom king may be given crowns to wear. Members of the prom court may be given sashes to wear and photographed together [6]. Similar events, which may be locally inspired by debutante balls, take place in many other parts of the world. More
Gaygory, Fats, Gina Grad, and Fats Junior (plus Morgan, Byork, and Sammi are TWS
Sammi Marino (@sammimarino • IG) Productions, Alt 98.7 FM LA; Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Jen B. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
Last near, a large part of Los Angeles County burned in the "LA Fires" -- Eaton Fire in the foothills of Altadena above affluent Pasadena and the Palisades Fire in the affluent coastal area of Pacific Palisades near Malibu -- but did anyone like the mayor learn anything? Not so far as anyone can tell. No official has read The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin?
OJ: Blame it on him. I'm the Juice
Granted it's about igniting social unrest (like the LA Uprising of 1992 triggered by racist LAPD cop and disgraced perjurer Mark Fuhrman, who died last week) rather than wildfires burning out of control, but whatever we've been through as a county, there's worse to come. There's the Big One, an earthquake to flatten the place, a tsunami to inundate the low lying areas of the basin, and there's a cosmic radiation solar emission to take out all the electronics and powerlines.
Fraud Fuhrman hired by FOX
What did the Buddha say about being in this sort of position? He once asked a king what he would do if messengers were to tell him that an adversary were approaching from the east, west, north, and south. The king replied, "What could I do but rely on the Dhamma?" The Buddha then said that there were four such enemies approaching so that whatever he was going to do, it would be wise to do it NOW. The thing is, the Buddha wasn't only talking to that king. Those same adversaries are approaching each of us. But do we notice, listen, pay attention, or act accordingly?
In 1995, Det. Fuhrman was called to testify regarding his alleged "discovery" of evidence in the OJ Simpson case, including a bloody glove recovered at OJ's Brentwood estate. During the trial, witnesses claimed that in the 1980s, LAPD cop Fuhrman frequently described African Americans as "niggers," claims he denied. In response, Simpson's defense team produced recorded interviews with Fuhrman, and witnesses proved that he had repeatedly used racist language during those interviews [1]. As a result, the defense claimed Fuhrman had committed perjury and was not a credible witness. The credibility of the prosecution has been cited as one reason big Simpson was acquitted [2]. The defense claimed Fuhrman planted key evidence as part of a racially motivated plot against Simpson. When asked under oath (without the jury being present), Fuhrman declined to answer all questions, invoking his Fifth Amendment right. These questions included whether he planted or manufactured evidence. He didn't want to answer? Fuhrman "retired" from the LAPD in 1995. In 1996, he pleaded guilty by pleading "no contest" to perjury for his false testimony related to his use of racial epithets. Fuhrman claimed he was not a racist and apologized for his use of racist language [3]. He did not apologize for potentially starting the deadly "LA Riots" or the people killed, an uprising that was a long time in the making due to flagrant LAPD racism. More
The Buddha was dwelling in Savatthi. Then King Pasenadi of Kosala approached the Blessed One in the middle of the day, bowed, and sat respectfully to one side. Sitting there, the Blessed One said to him, "Great king, where are you coming from in the middle of the day?"
"Venerable sir, just now I was engaged in the affairs of an anointed noble-warrior king, enjoying the intoxication of royal sovereignty, obsessed with lust for sensual pleasures, who has attained stable control of his kingdom after having conquered a great sphere of earthly territory."
"Great king, what do you think? Suppose a trustworthy and reliable man were to come to you from the east and say, 'If it please your majesty, know that I come from the east where I saw a great mountain, as high as the clouds, coming this way, crushing all the living beings [in its path]. Do as you see fit.'
"'Then suppose a second man were to come from the west... Then a third man were to come from the north... Then a fourth man were to come from the south and say, 'If it please your majesty, know that I come from the south where I saw a great mountain, as high as the clouds, coming this way, crushing all living beings. Do as you see fit.'
"Great king, if such great peril should arise, such a terrible waste of human life — a human rebirth being so hard to obtain — what should be done?"
"Venerable sir, if such great peril should arise, such a terrible waste of human life — a human rebirth being so hard to obtain — what else should be done but conduct in accordance with the Dhamma, right action, skillful deeds, meritorious karma?"
"Then, great king, I inform you, I announce to you, aging and death are rolling in upon you. Great king, when aging and death are rolling in upon you, what should be done?"
"Venerable sir, as aging and death are rolling in upon me, what else should be done but conduct in accordance with the Dhamma, right conduct, skillful deeds, meritorious karma?
"Venerable sir, there are elephant battles [fought by] anointed noble-warrior kings enjoying the intoxication of royal sovereignty, obsessed by lust for sensual pleasures, who have attained stable control of their kingdom and who rule having conquered a great sphere of earthly territory. But there is no use in elephant battles, no sense in them, when aging and death are rolling in.
"There are cavalry battles... chariot battles... infantry battles... But there is no use for such battles, no sense in them, when aging and death are rolling in.
"In this royal court there are counselors who, when the enemies arrive, are capable of dividing them by their wit. But there is no use for such battles of wits, no sense in them, when aging and death are rolling in.
"In this royal court there is abundant gold and silver stored in vaults and depositories, and with such wealth we are capable of buying off enemies when they come. But there is no use in battles of wealth, no sense in them, when aging and death are rolling in. As aging and death are rolling in upon me, venerable sir, what else should be done but conduct in accordance with Dhamma, right conduct, skillful deeds, meritorious karma?"
"So it is, great king, so it is! As aging and death are rolling in upon you, what else should be done but conduct in accordance with Dhamma, right conduct, skillful deeds, meritorious karma?"
That is what the Blessed One said. Having said it, the One Well-Gone [the Welcome One], the Teacher, went on to summarize:
Television report from W5 about the early 1980's punk rock scene in Los Angeles, California, featuring Back In Control Center (hilarious) and Mike Ness' band Social Distortion.
As a kid in a punk rock garage band many years ago in LA, we once opened for Social D. It was a house party at a squatter's flat in Highland Park, where runaways and heavy partiers stayed. With electricity piped in from a long extension cord, we did what we could. Then came the house band Detox followed by Julie's SIN 34 from Santa Monica before SD headlined. If Hollywood makes a version of that night, it looked a bit like this (and nothing as cool as the first video):
I remember thinking, "Who does this guy think he is with makeup, way more than guyliner, and where can I get some?"
Even then Mike Ness was a powerful presence if only because it seemed for all the world that he did not give two S's, very in line with the Tao. Who knew he had a drinking problem?
The strange thing was, this being LA, there was a massive and mysterious Buddhist building (Mystic Dharma Temple) just down the street on Figueroa St. Rather than drinking, like the fictional character Kwai Chang Caine (Kung Fu), I was drawn to visiting it and learning to meditate from Ven. Chao Chu, a Sri Lankan Mahayana-Theravada polyglot hybrid monk and his snooty American assistant Dana.
How did I get so lucky? Years later, visiting Sri Lanka and Malaysia, the senior Theravada scholar-monk Ven. K. Sri Dhammananda sighed a copy of his Dhammapada (verses and backstories), writing: "One who protects the Dhamma is protected by the Dhamma."
Punk could be very smart (DKs)
It seemed profound at the time, but instead of magic, what it really seems to be saying is very basic: Imagine working in an industrial factory and instead of a sign that reads how many days since the last accident, the bosses were to put up an inspirational note that read: "One who protects [keeps] the safety rules is protected by the safety rules." Rule No. 5 is "to undertake to abstain from alcohol and intoxicants that occasion heedlessness." I could leave the hard drinking to Mike Ness, Detox, and all the followers. I could be straight edge before that caught on on the west coast. I was already listening to east coast Minor Threat, British anarcho punk vegans Rudimentary Peni, and the Dead Kennedys, which was a start.
Karma being what it is, we eventually ended up getting advanced degrees at UCLA, but not before Chao Chu and I attended the local community college to make up for a wasted youth in high school. There we started the college's first Buddhist club. The temple, the monk, and Dana eventually moved to Rosemead.
Karma, it makes for a long strange trip. So, as the saying goes, "be careful who you step on to move up in the world; you'll be seeing them again on the way down" or some such. Brad Warner was nowhere to be seen, but Noah Levine might have been around as well as Steve Pfauter. Maybe L.A. PUNK 13 knows all of this in greater detail.
One of the strange things about living in LA is its proximity to Hollywood, the throat chakra of the West, like the larger Bollywood is for the East (or India at least) is running into stars. We were at the radio station (KROQ.com, 106.7 FM), at the Audacy Corporation in the Miracle Mile district celebrating Cinco de Mayo at the cantina Descanso. Across the street, legendary punk pioneers Social Distortion was going to play a secret show at the station's new Sound Stage. A few maneuvers later, we were in! But what a strange trip. Standing next to Punk Rock Girl to see cancer survivor Mike Ness, once the epitome of tough guy drunk (now 40 years sober in AA), looking like some kind of gavone from the Lower East Side of NY or some TV gangster mobster as Megan Holiday and Kevin Ryder roll him out for an interview. Nice guy, learned a lot from AA, but he can barely talk or think or comprehend what's going on. The crowd loved it, having won tickets for the coveted show over the past few weeks. Flagging, failing self-proclaimed "punk influencer" Punk Rock Girl (Erin Micklow), who was persona non grata at the Queen Mary punk show and has been banned from Punk Rock Bowling at the Punk Museum in Las Vegas, we hear, weaseled her way in. "Who does a girl have to sl**p with to get into these things?" she might be asking. We would tell her if she asked us. But she seemed to enjoy herself as much as the Ozempic crowd largely in attendance. Punk rock never died, but it sure has been through a lot. Social D has a new album, Born to Kill, coming out after 15 years, and heartless corporate entity KROQ is doing them a solid due to all the fans they still have.
All materials on this site are submitted by editors and readers. All images, unless otherwise noted, were taken from the Internet and are assumed to be in the public domain.
In the event that there is still a problem, issue, or error with copyrighted material, the break of the copyright is unintentional and noncommercial, and the material will be removed immediately upon presented proof.
Contact us by submitting a comment marked "private."
Do not follow this journal if you are under vinaya or parental restrictions. Secure protection by Sucuri.
Wisdom Quarterly: American Buddhist Journal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at creativecommons.org/about/licenses.
