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March 2013 A Student Publication For The CSUN Community

Faculty
THEMED BARS IN LA GEEK
MEET-UPS

Tattoos

CSUN Staff

GET INKED

PLUS
Vikings, Grannies, Strads, & more
Professor Marie Cartier Gender & Womens Studies

MARCH 2013

S CONTENTS

Scene Magazine
3 That guy is on
fire!
Fire spinners tell their story

10 Faculty

Tattoos
Teachers talk tattoos

4 Prana Eaters
The No Food Diet...Is it possible?

14 Odd bars

Villains, rabbits, gypsies and booze. These bars ooze spirit

That Guys On Fire

Story and Photo By Jeffrey Zide

6 Not your

grandmas culture
Old time crafts make a comeback

16 Geek meet-ups
Find the right herd of nerds

8 The million

dollar violin

18 The Norse

Hollywood Vikings
Show your horns and join!

The story of the Stradivarius CSUN owned

19 Valley Girl
Where has the Valley girl gone?

Karlee Johnson Jim McLauchlin Gabrielle Moreira Iuliia Vazhenina Christina Bennett Jasmin Cruz, Melissa Simon Iuliia Vazhenina Dustin Johnson, Jasmine Mochizuki, Ken Scarboro, Loren Townsley Jonathan Bue, Agnes Constante, Jasmin Cruz, Mayra Escobedo, Marc Evangelista, Virginia Ibarra, Jacqueline Kalisch, Spencer Kilgore, Christina Pembleton Natalie Rivera, Berlyn Reisenauer, Melissa Simon, Ammons Smith, Aprile Sumague, Terese Torgersen, Iuliia Vazhenina, Jeffrey Zide Ezra Shapiro

Editor in Chief Executive Editor Managing Editor Photo Editor Production, Page Design Feature Editors Cover Photo Contributors Staff

Adviser

A group of fire spinners, people who use ropes, staffs and other objects to light on fire and spin, meet at a Culver City park to display their art. Scott McCoy, who has been spinning for more than a year, said people in the group use fire spinning as a form of therapy to overcome challenges they have had in life. It has a very transformative effect on people. It challenges them in many very healthy ways, McCoy said. They call it spinning fire but they might as well call it spinning fear. You can go tell your boss Im not afraid of you, I spin fire. Aviva Yeheskel, who was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder three years ago, said fire twirling helps her

They call it spinning fire but they might as well call it spinning fear. You can go tell your boss Im not afraid of you, I spin fire. - Scott McCoy

focus and gives her a sense of control over her body. I wasnt really happy before and once I started spinning I was able to cope much better and I was much happier. I feel like I am in control when I spin and that everything is going to be okay, Yeheskel said. Not all members of the group spin fire to overcome challenges in their life, many do it just for fun. Doug Riechel, CSUN student and English major, has spun fire for more than three years. I saw a couple of friends doing it and it looked cool so I thought Id give it a try, Riechel said. And Ive been doing it ever since.

Copyright 2013 by Scene magazine All rights reserved. scene magazine is published by the csun journalism department california state university northridge 18111 nordhoff street northridge, ca 91330-8311 (818) 677-3135

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Can you explain what Pranic living is exactly? How does it work? Can anyone become Breatharian? Whats the first step?

Ea

Camila Castillo: Prana is the life source, the flow of energy. It is a universal consciousness and Gods life source. From a scientific point, Prana is the primary cosmic energy and has different forms of manifestation. It creates the camps of the psyche, makes blood circulate, creates warmth and cold. In the universe, everything is a manifestation of Prana. It is the life that creates everything that exists. Pranic Living is about being free. We are all Pranic beings with the potential to know our own infinity.
How long did it take for you to become Breatharian? Do you feel hunger or thirst?

CC: Anyone with the desire to step into their infinite potential can make the shift back into the universal Pranic consciousness. It is simply a matter of being open to the possibilities that exist. We must recognize that there is infinity to explore, and that as a collective human consciousness, we have only really begun to scratch the surface of our potential. The intention is everything, and there are many teachings and tools being shared with humanity to assist in the recalibration to this frequency. One of these teachings is the Infinite Pranic Being Transitional Process. It is an initiation that contains the information that the person needs to reactivate its natural capacity to be self-sustainable and live free from the food matrix.
You had a baby while being a Breatharian,

ter
tion ra
so By D ust i n Jo hn

s
n

by I ul

They drink the sun and dont eat. Is this even possible?
Can human beings become creatures who feed on the energy of the sun? It sounds like a sci-fi novel or some prophets promise of impossible. But can it happen? Camila Castillo says yes. She and her husband are Breatharians, or practitioners of Pranic living. They claim that anyone can shift their consciousness to a level where the body wont need human food and will be sustained on a cosmic energy. Starting in 2005, Castillo and her husband Ricardo Salas moved from vegetarian to vegan, and then to the ingestion of only fruits. The journey led them to the concept of Living from Light, which they believe to be humanitys natural state. In 2008, they decided to live the experience of the 21-day Breatharian Process. They claim they have entered into their natural state of existence of living without necessities and are now living from light, without the need for food.

n Pra
iia V az h

a
en i na

Il l

u st

CC: First of all, I would love for true? you to understand that Breatharianism is a state of freedom, and not CC: Yes, we lived a pregnancy from limitation. Often Breatharianism is the Pranic state, the most beautiful and categorized as a diet. But it is actually luminous experience of all my life. The the liberation of all structures that entire pregnancy was very easy, and totally maintained you within a habitual enjoyable. I never experienced the common Castillo and Salas with their 2-year-old son, who was born in a cycle of necessity. The topic of food is state of Pranic Living. Courtesy of Camila Castillo symptoms of early pregnancy, such as mornreally too superficial. ing sickness and fatigue. As the pregnancy It starts with a 21-day fast. The continued into the second trimester, I did a set of blood exams, and first seven days are dry fasting, and in the next 14 days there is a the results surprised every medical personnel who studied them. I gradual integration of liquids again. The process was like a stepping never worried about my diet or the amount of minerals or vitamins stone into realizing my own greatness and the infinite potential that I received. I did drink and enjoy flavors out of enjoyment from time lies within. This experience led me to feel many things and to also to time [while pregnant], but never out of hunger or necessity. release a lot of old information that I carried within my cellular Our son is now 2 years and 3 months old and is a beautiful and structure subconsciously from generations past. I was led to the healthy boy. He continues to breastfeed, and this is the perfect nourrecognition of the role of the breath in our existence. ishment of love that a mother can give to her child.

THE OPPOSITION REPORT

by terese Torgersen

Chris Espinosa is a certified nutritionist, personal trainer, and wellness lecturer. Heres his take on Prana:
Is it possible to live without eating?

been around for thousands of years, but the quality of life is not awesome.
Where do you think Prana practitioners get their nutrition?

Chris Espinosa: I have not seen any long-term evidence that people can live without eating. James Scott did 43 days without food [while lost in the Himalayas] in 1992. A girl reportedly went 66 years without food by doing certain yoga moves and getting energy from the sun. I have heard of cultures in India where people have lived off a grain of rice a day for years. You may be able to survive without food through mental manipulation practices. You can create energy through practices that have

CE: They could technically live off coconut water. Is it healthy? I dont think so because the body needs certain basic things like protein. Coconut water has these things, but not in a quantity which a normal person would need to function.
What are some of the disadvantages with practicing Prana?

up a certain way and crack your left eye and have to look at the sun a certain time in the morning. Native Americans and Eskimos did this. But to be able to practice this, your whole lifestyle has to revolve around yoga and meditation. You have to live like a monk by following daily rituals like yoga.
What are the most extreme non-eating situations youre aware of?

CE: Ive heard of sun drinking and I tried a form of it four years ago. You wake

CE: People have gone into survival states and lived off very limited things. You can technically live off yourself by, for example, eating your nails. Drinking the sun and manipulating energy requires a certain type of knowledge and practice. I dont recommend it for anybody. Animals are delicious.

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M comical skit on the monitors in the background. Tickets for Rebel Bingo range from $5 to $20 and take place in secret locations worldwide. To snag your spot, act quick and visit rebelbingo.com
Yarn bombing: Will your neighborhood be next?

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Who said that your grandmas hobbies couldnt be the same as yours? In this day and age, anything is possible. Check out these two activities that dont necessarily appeal only to your grandparents, but to you, too.
Rebel Bingo: Leave Grandma at home

NOT
YOUR GRANDMAS

CULTURE
By Marc evangelista, Virginia ibarra, melissa simon, aprile sumague

A Red Hatters take on rebel bingo

Rows of tables full of elderly women, sometimes men, listen for the numbers they need to get four across. Elevator music plays in the background, and then, Bingo! is yelled from somewhere in the back of the room. This is what one thinks of for the game bingo. Rebel bingo, however, is by no means traditional, nor is it the bingo we think grandmas sit around and play. Yolanda Petrowski, queen of the La-Tea-Dahs chapter of Red Hatters in Granada Hills, has never heard of rebel bingo, but it doesnt seem like something she would condone. If there is drinking involved, I dont think its a good idea, Petrowski said. Kids will experiment and try anything new and on the edge.

If there is one thing weve never imagined doing for fun, its sitting in a room full of elderly people, sipping on punch and marking numbers as they roll out of the mouth of a bored, middle-aged volunteer. This, to our luck, is our grannies type of game and we have no reason, nor desire to stay in the room long enough to hear the word BINGO yelled out. Leave it to the British duo, Freddie Fortune and James Flames to turn the stereotypically snore-worthy activity into an interactive show with bright lights, a full-stocked bar and prizes you never knew you needed. We invented Rebel Bingo by accident when we were drunk in the basement of a church hall in London one night, Fortune said to the excited crowd on the opening night in Orange County, the newest city added to the Rebel Bingo locations (others include Los Angeles and Santa Monica). Were not quite

sure how, but it suddenly became a global revolution. While the game does share some similarities with the classic version, Rebel Bingo brings a naughty element to the equation. Two models, including Americas Next Top Model participant Felicia Porter, clad in scandalous costumes and wigs, accompany Fortune on the stage, calling out the numbers while shouting out provocative sayings that rhyme with the number selected. So far the game seems easy, but here comes the tricky part: participants are allowed to cheat. It doesnt matter how many people call out bingo, they all have to race to the stage and the first two to hug Fortune move on to the next level of the show. If the numbers are wrong, however, the player gets kicked off the stage and the word loser pops up on the screens, red lights flashing. For those who choose not to cheat, or get lucky enough not to get caught, are in the run for random prizes, including a panda stuffed animal to keep you company, an animal jumpsuit to hide you from your ex, a discoball to make you a successful party host and the ultimate prize: a suitcase that plays music so you can party anywhere you go. Each prize is announced to the audience while playing a

Yarn bombing is a relatively recent form of street art that employs colorful displays of knits or crochet and other fiber material, instead of paint, in a public space. Many engage in yarn bombing as a fun and creative way to use leftover yarn, while others consider it an urban intervention to personalize cold and impersonal spaces or to make socio- political statements. Yarn bombing transforms knitting and crochet from a domestic endeavor to public art, recontextualizing both knitting and graffiti. Yarn Bombing Los Angeles (YBLA) is a group of guerilla knitters who collaborate to stage public installations and performances to help expand the definition of public art to include street art such as graffiti and yarn bombing. Formed in 2010, about 50 percent of YBLA is comprised of senior citizens, the other half ranging from teenagers to middle-aged mothers. They remain locally based, but keep a far reach due to their collaborations with other yarn bombing groups throughout the United States and in Europe. We are a self-funded grassroots project that helps artists express their creativity, said Carol Zou, co-organizer of YBLA. We hope to inspire people to create their own artwork, to do it in their own neighborhoods and to create their own groups. Zou, 25, joined the group in 2011 because of her interest in knitting and wanted to experience the artwork from her very own home in Los Angeles. Her goal to become more involved in her neighborhood also moved her to find ways to express her creativity and to network with people who shared her interests. According to YBLA, their projects range from the day-long urban intervention, the organizations community outreach, outside MOCAs seminal Art in the Streets show to conducting knit graffiti workshops for LAUSD teachers, students and their parents. Additionally, YBLA holds monthly stitch-n-bitch meetings to work together, exchange ideas, tips and materials, learn new techniques, see old friends, meet new people and come up with new projects. People are welcome to attend our events or they can send in their own squares to help us with recent projects, Zou said. Their current project, Craft and Folk Art Museum Granny Squared, will bring together an international community of 275 artists and crafters to cover the faade of the

Photo by Aprile Sumague

Photo by Spencer Kilgore

Craft and Folk Art Museum with granny squares in May 2013. Once the exhibit is over, YBLA plans on distributing the granny squares to the residents of skid row. The public is invited to drop in on one of their monthly stitch-nbitch meetings every third Saturday of the month, 2-5 p.m. at the Craft and Folk Art Museum at 5814 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90036.

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The million dollar violin

By Scene staff

Whats it like to own a Strad?

By Iuliia Vazhenina

A Stradivarius violin, dated 1732 and nicknamed the Tom Taylor after a 19th century playwright, came to CSUN in February 1961 when Andor Toth accepted a position at what was then San Fernando Valley State College. Toth had a benefactor in Albert F. Metz, a New Jersey industrialist, politician and music aficionado, who donated the instrument on the agreement that it be available for use by faculty and worthy students. The Tom Taylor was well used at the school until the mid 80s when it was loaned to a former faculty member for professional use. At the end of the decade, the school sold the instrument to Bein & Fushi, a fine instruments dealer in Chicago, for about $700,000. The money was used to fund music scholarships. Bein & Fushi work closely with

the Stradivari Society, a group that pairs valuable instruments with capable performers. It was through this group that Joshua Bell, a Grammy Award-winning artist, was introduced to the Tom Taylor, which he played for several years before purchasing it in 1994. Bell verifies the condition of the Tom Taylor in the book Violin Virtuosos, where he notes that the neck of the violin was not original. Still, he refers to the Tom Taylor as a players instrument noting that it was once in the possession of well-known historical figures like Nicolo Paganini, a noted Italian virtuoso, as well as Hungarian composer Joseph Joachim. By 2001, Bell sold the Tom Taylor to an anonymous buyer for $2 million to purchase the Gibson ex-Huberman for nearly $4 million. The Tom Taylor is currently thought to be in New York.

A small room in Cypress Hall at CSUN fills with a deep, rich sound created by an instrument that most violinists crave to playthe Stradivarius violin. Michael Ferril, CSUN violin instructor, tenderly puts his instrument down and talks about one of his favorite subjects. I will never forget that feeling when I played the Stradivarius violin for the first time, Ferril said with excitement in his voice. I was 10 when my teacher Myron Sandler brought the Tom Taylor Stradivarius to my elementary school. Stradivarius refers to the violins and other stringed instruments built by the Stradivari family in the 17th and 18th centuries. Hundreds of years later, they are still recognized as the gold standard for precision and rich sound.

Photo by Iuliia Vazhenina

Ferril has played more than 20 different Stradivarius violins, some of which he has owned, others of which were loaned to him. Today, Ferril owns two Stradivarius violins and one Rotondo by Alessandro Gagliano that dates to 1710. The Rotondo is a collectors piece that has never been played. It is really rare. It always stays in bank, Ferril said. This violin has never been touched, and its condition is still as it was in the 18th century. Ferril became a violin instructor at CSUN to inspire talented students to fall in love with the art and to become great musicians. I like being here at CSUN, Ferril said. Our kids are so wonderful and even more talented than we were. I am trying to encourage them. Sometimes I bring the Strad to school and let them play it and they forever remember that sound, like I did, when I was 10. produced more than 1,100 instruments including harps, cellos, guitars, violas and violins from 1646 until his death in 1737. His works are so popular that to this day many violin makers try to recreate the qualities and sound of a Stradivarius. Most recently in 2011, the Radiological Society of North America used CT imaging and 3-D printing to recreate an exact copy of the violin. With fewer than 700 original Strad instruments known, CSUN was able to obtain one for more than 30 years. Each instrument has a unique moniker to distinguish the piece from other Stradivari originals. Names can represent the person that currently owns the instrument or someone who once owned it, where it was from, or where it ended up. The nicknames provide historical clues about the journey each instrument takes over time.

Stradivarius: An exceptional discovery

By Christina Pembleton

Stradivariety
Lady Blunt, 1721Named after Lady Anne Blunt, who was the 15th baroness of Wentworth and co-founder of the horse breeding farm, the Crabbet Arabian Stud. Red Mendelssohn, 1721Said to be the inspiration for the film The Red Violin, and currently owned by Elizabeth Pitcairn, a faculty member at the Colburn School of Performing Arts in Los Angeles. Gibson ex-Huberman, 1713The Gibson Strad was stolen from famed violinist Bronislaw Huberman while performing at Carnegie Hall in 1936. Fifty years later, a lesser-known violinist named Julian Altman admitted to the theft on his deathbed.
photo courtesy of Michael Ferril Tom Taylor in London owned it until his death in 1880

Stradivarius violins are some of the most expensive string instruments on the market. One recently sold for $16 million at auction. The 1721 Lady Blunt violin holds the record for the highest price paid for an instrument at $15.9 million. It was sold at an auction in London to raise earthquake relief funds for Japan in 2011. With an eye for design and geometry, Antonio Stradivari

The Tom Taylor goes global

Violin made its way to Berlin, Germany 1905-1927 Owned by Jacques Gordon (Chicago/New York) from 1930-1938 Albert F. Metz, also of New Jersey owned it in1954 and donated it in 1961

Composer Laura Wilson Barker, wife of Tom Taylor, owned the violin until she died in 1905

From 1927-1930 the violin was in New York

Patricia Travers of New Jersey owned the instrument from 1938-1954

CSUN acquires the violin from 1961-1988

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Professor Martin Pousson English

By Jasmin cruz, karlee johnson, berlyn reisenauer, ammons smith, Terese Torgersen Photos by Berlyn reisenauer, iuliia vazhenina

Some of CSUNs faculty and staff members are interested in the modern art of tattoos. From the English department to the staff at Physical Plant Management, each person embodies their thoughts and desires in a meaningful piece of art on their body. And most are ready to show the ink and share their stories. When creative writing professor Martin Pousson explained his first tattoo to his parents, an explanation just shy of full-on academic discourse, his mother decided that he just wanted to look tough. Pousson admits there was some credibility to that claim. The first ink that I got was really in the shadow of my fag bashing, he said. In the wake of being brutally beaten, there was a part of me that wanted to assert some sort of toughness. And I thought tattoos did that. Just as Pousson saw his tattoos as marks of toughness, he also saw them as opportunities to mark himself with the complex signifiers of his own Cajun Catholic culture-

Faculty
-one that he was reared in, but was often rejected by. Poussons first tattoo was a fleur-de-lis, a marker of his French culture, that he had done with a friend of his mere blocks away from where he had been fag-bashed. After watching his friend, who was much larger than he was, whimper and cry when getting his ink done, Pousson braced himself for the worst. But I was not crying, he said. There was a psychic release of sorts because I realized I could easily manage the pain. As soon as that ink was finished, I decided to get three others [that day]. A good portion of Poussons tattoos are dedicated to his family, beginning with a cross tattoo for his sister who died at the age of 15. Carrying the Catholic motif, he added his parents (ma mre and mon pre) on each of his arms, where they would be if he were on a cross. When Poussons grandmother had a stroke, she had lost her mobility and ability

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Tattoos

to speak. He told her over the phone that, if she could walk and talk again, he would have her name placed on his heart. When I was fag-bashed and came out to my grandmother, which my parents had forbidden, she rushed to acceptance, years, even a full decade before the other members of my family, he said. Poussons grandmother was very dear to him, so when she did finally walk and talk again, he added a Mary on his chest. His most recent work Pousson was the most meticulous: the words Saint and Martin running down his forearms. While the name Martin is significant to his family, it is also significant to his Louisianian heritage, as Saint Martin is the patron saint of the Cajuns. Pousson also has personal reasons for getting the piece, I decided to canonize myself because I figured the Pope would never get around to it, he said.

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All of Jim Logsdons tattoos have deep meaning to him. All of my art is representative of things I believe in and care about the most, he said. Logsdon, CSUN ground and events manager, works in Physical Plant Management and has several tattoos. His first was the symbols he had learned through martial arts. The symbols include determination, perseverance, discipline, loyalty, respect and Jaclyn Hymes, who works in the the supplemental instruction program and will be a teaching associate at CSUN in the fall, is covered in bright tattoos and has no intention of stopping anytime soon. Some of her tattoos, including a bright orange octopus on her right arm and a spooky chest piece, were done by tattoo artist John MacIntyre of High Voltage tattoo in West Hollywood. Her chest piece is an elaborate one that contains different literary references: a raven for Edgar Allen Poe, a funeral carriage for Emily Dickinson, a headless horseman for Washington Irving, and

humility. Each set of three symbols are tattooed on the same side as the instructor who taught him the six principles. Martial arts helped me focus my life and thats where I went with all of [my tattoo art], he said, noting that the exception is his steam engine he got for his son and their shared love of trains. Logsdons other tattoos include a steam engine

M Karen Morgaine, sociology professor, received her first tattoo 23 years ago from a friend of a friend named Dan Thome, a well-known tattoo artist at the time. She received her tattoo when the culture started its resurgence and it was becoming more of a subculture in San Francisco. Traditional tattoos were done by hand, not by gun, said Morgaine. Her first two tattoos were traditional. She has four tattoos and is going to get her fifth in a couple months. Morgaine said tattoos are addicting. Each of Morgaines tattoos have a snake or multiple snakes in them, as she said the snake is a traditional symbol of transformation. Morgaine, who coincidentally was born in the year of the snake, said her favorite piece is on her left calf because it was executed well. Morgaine plans on incorporating Sanskrit into her calf tattoo because of her

for his son [for their shared love for trains], two dragons for his father and uncle, and another dragon with Bruce Lees adaptation of the Yin Yang symbol, using red and gold. Logsdon is among those that do not feel a need to cover his tattoos. While he understands there are a lot of negative views toward people with tattoos, he has never experienced it on campus. From the president of the university to my coworkers, I never felt the Charles Bukowski quote, Death will tremble to take us. All of my tattoos reflect who I am or are literary-based, Hymes said. Although she laughs at the puzzle piece on her right arm, she said there are none she regrets; her only problem is the small script on her wrist that needs to be touched up. Hymes obtained her bachelors in

a lot of short sleeve shirts, I am not embarrassed. For me, he said, its not a tattoo, its body art. dont know but students in supplemental
instruction

anyone looked down on me, said Logsdon. I wear

connection to Buddhism. I gravitate to that way of thinking philosophically, she said. My new tattoo is might not be appropriate later on in life, Cartier asked her friend What am I going to do when I get old? She then remembered that her friend would never be old. She died six months later. I can still see her there, Cartier said of her friend. That was a great day. She now has a total of four tattoos. While the first was a spur of the moment decision, the others were thought out. At 40, Cartier went through a tough breakup. She had been alone for a while and decided to tattoo magic symbols, hearts, planets and her astrological sign, a fish, below her first tattoo on her right arm to get her through it. But her most meaningful tattoo sits on her lower back. Like all of her tattoos, it is colorful and has a special meaning. In 2009, while attending the International Womens Conference in Seoul, South Korea, a lack of translation determined what her next tattoo would be. Everyone kept coming up and asking to take a picture with me, Cartier said. I didnt realize why until I saw everyone had zoomed in on my tattoos. Few in South Korea have tattoos because

joy. As a professor, Morgaine has never tried to hide her tattoos. She believes the workforce should not dictate covering tattoos. Allowing room for people to be who they are is important, she said. She believes tattoos that are offensive can be tricky and complex in the workforce and are worth critical reflection.

going to have the Sanskrit words for the Four Immeasurables, a Buddhist concept that, loosely translated, means equanimity, love, compassion and

dont

We often hear about high school or college students getting their first tattoo, but in CSUN professor Marie Cartiers case, her first one came at the age of 37. The gender and womens studies professor did not intend on getting one. She was visiting a friend who was fatally ill. Her friend said they would be getting tattoos that day and Cartier agreed as she was in no position to say no. This was what her friend wanted. I dont regret it, but I know that I would have regretted saying no, Cartier said. Realizing a tattoo

day.

care. Hopefully this new idea of who gives carries on and I wont have to wear turtle necks every

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English at CSUN in 2011 and is now in the creative writing graduate program. In the program, Hymes knows when to cover herself appropriately. I dont think you have to cover them to look professional, but it does depend on who your boss is, she said. Some people

of their religion and the teachings of Confucius, which made Cartier very popular on her visit. It was because of all this attention that a woman stood out to her on the bus. The woman had several visible tattoos and she overheard Cartier talking about needing a translator for her next day presentation. The woman volunteered to translate. After Cartiers presentation, the translator, Inhui Lee, invited her to a shamans home where she received a gift of papers with protection symbols. She jokingly said she would get them tattooed. Lee, a tattoo artist, offered to handle the tattoo session. They met up months later in San Francisco. The tattoo session was planned to be a spiritual ritual, but the pain of the process ended up being incredibly distracting. Though Cartier is proud to carry the symbols with her everywhere, she recounted. oh my god, it was so effing painful! Cartier is happy with her tattoos and does not feel pressured to conceal them on campus. She has not received any negative reactions. Or maybe, she said, I just choose to ignore it and thats why I dont notice it.
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By Virginia Ibarra, karlee johnson, spencer kilgore Illustration by Jasmine mochizuki

dd Bars

M The bartender, Rodney, who has worked at the bar since 2010, struggled to pinpoint the best drink and said the only reason any of them exist is because they are all great. Rodney does recommend the Belladonna, a mix of bourbon, mint, citrus, and bitters topped with shaved ice and blackberries, Inigo Montoya, a concoction of tequila, agave, citrus, bitters and a pinch of jalapeno and cucumber, or Hanzo, a combination of gin, mint, cucumber and fresh citrus. If you want a table, reservations are highly recommended because this place gets packed, especially on weekends. It can lead to a lengthy wait for drinks, but it is expected when the bartenders mix drinks as meticulously as they do. The neighborhood might appear seedy with weathered brick buildings, barbed wire coiled atop fences with snarling guard dogs on the other side and no housing tracts within eyeshot, but Villains patrons dont seem to mind roaming the streets to avoid the $5 secure parking in the lot and opt for the ample street parking in the area. If youre looking for good drinks in a hip environment, live music from bands you may probably have never heard of or just looking to get sloshed, Villains is the place to be. THE RABBIT HOLE Bars in the San Fernando Valley are not exactly known for being chic or trendy, so when Randy Hill and Alexander Maximillian took ownership of a bar property in Canoga Park, they wanted to set themselves apart from the local competition. That was the beginning of the journey down The Rabbit Hole. As the name suggests, The Rabbit Hole takes its name and ambiance from Lewis Carrolls Alices Adventures in Wonderland. On the bars opening night, Hill tells me it was their goal to give their bar the feel of a place you might expect to find in Ventura or downtown LA. We were going for a loungefeel in the Valley, says Hill, as I note the deep purple walls that could easily be found in a jazz club. Hill thinks The Rabbit Hole offers more than its neighboring competitors, boasting 23 draft beers, specialty drinks, a selection of liquor to rival anyone out there with competitive prices (it cost me $34 for three beers and three mixed drinks). While I wait for Jefferson Airplanes Go Ask Alice to play, Hill notes that the music was carefully selected to dictate the mood of the bar. Though I am not quite convinced that a Top 40 soundtrack matches the bars vibes, the other customers seem to be grooving. The bars first customer, Keith Marquez, points to a dollar bill hanging up behind the bar with his signature on it. Marquez, who worked security at the bar when it was the Blarney Cove, says that this barwhatever the name outsideis a long tradition in his family. My grandma used to come here 40 years ago to whatever it was called then, Marquez says. Its always been a great bar, and it looks great now. Even though I dont know (the owners), Im very proud of them for what theyve done with the place. The bar is filled with good people tonight, and thats what we need. And Marquez is right; the patrons are friendly and ask us questions about what magazine we are reporting for and where they can pick up a copy. Another journalist even stops to talk shop with us for a minute. And when Katie Blackburn orders one of The Rabbit Holes specialty drinksThe Queen of Heartsa little ways down the bar, she has no trouble letting us snap a couple of pictures of it. Blackburn, who drove up from San Diego for the bars opening, also notes the bars atmosphere. Its just a dive bar that is unique and fun, Blackburn says. Its kind of funky. It would be so easy for a theme bar to be over-the-top and obnoxious, and you would be hard-pressed to find a theme more ripe with oddity than Alice in Wonderland. But The Rabbit Hole does not overwhelm you. In fact, it takes an observant eye to notice that the further you go into the bar, the more topsy-turvy your surroundings become. The hedge maze entrance guides you in, and you may see lone chess pieces behind the bar. As you continue, youll notice the upside Heineken sign, the Dali-esque grandfather clock, and walls lined with tilted mirrors. You can tell that you have goneyou guessed itdown the rabbit hole.

ONE-EYED GYPSY

Whoever said that freaks come out at night was obviously a fan of downtown LAs bar, the One-Eyed Gypsy. The carnival-themed watering hole, which opened in 2011 by Dana Hollister, entertains visitors with live music, free skee-ball, a photo booth and other fair-related games. A stuffed ox sets the mood before patrons even enter as it stands in the entrance, its dead eyes staring at everyone who passes by. The ambiance has an eerie carnival feel as gold-framed mirrors line cobalt blue walls and fringed-lamps cast a sultry, dim light in the bar. Inside is a striped, tent-like drape that drops once the often-folksy bands are ready to entertain the crowd. But ultimately what sets the freak show mood is the food and drinks. With the most popular drinks carrying names like Gypsys Nectar, (a mix of tangerine, honey and hand made guava) and Clowns Cup, (a not-too-sweet cucumber and lemon fusion), deciding which drink to order is only part of the fun. The real mystery lies in The One Eyed Hooch, a drink that requires you to simply trust the bartender. As for the beer lovers, the choices at One-Eyed Gypsy are endless at only $7 for cans and $10

Photo by Ken Scarboro

Drink Recipes From Villains Tavern

The Penicillin

Rye whiskey Honey Ginger Citrus And a touch of mint Mix at your own risk. Quantities to taste.

From the Rabbit Hole

The Caterpillar 1 oz. Malibu oz. Midori oz. Banana juice 2 oz. Pineapple juice 1 oz. Orange juice For extra flare, add some dry ice to mimic Carrolls hookah-smoking caterpillar

for drafts. Or there is the choice to mix and match beers with a shot of tequila, vodka or whiskey. Be aware that the bartender will fill shot glasses to the brim, and no the alcohol is not a cheap brand. While bars are keepers if they have good drinks, the availability of an amazing selection of food takes them to a whole new level. The bar has an array of gourmet pizza selections and snacks such as beef sliders, corn dogs and sweet potato tots, but the dessert menu steals the show. The selection includes a medley of carnival favorites such as funnel cake, deep fried cookies (yes, even girl scout cookies are available), and Chocodile, a battered then deep fried, chocolate covered Twinkie with a finishing touch of sprinkles. But not all things are perfect in life. The One-Eyed Gypsy is only open Wednesday through Saturday from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. VILLAINS TAVERN Tucked away in the corner of downtown LAs arts district, in an industrial block filled with warehouses and empty buildings, Villains Tavern might be mistaken as a black and yellow striped carni-

val tent alone in a parking lot. But at closer inspection, the black concrete structure, through crawling vines, has a sign that reads: Villains Tavern. Located at 1356 Palmetto St. on the corner of Santa Fe Avenue, the tavern greets its patrons with a wall of bottles of colorful potions surrounding the entryway leading to the main bar. Left of the entrance is a second room fully equipped with a full-bar, seating and a wooden stage for live bands all nights of the week. The bands are usually folksy, bluegrassy and rock-n-roll types. The price of a single beer or spirit is not on the menu, but its irrelevant. They have a running-special which ranges from $8 to $20 for a beer/shot combo, $10 for a 16oz draft of their popular beers or a variety of craft-brews and a shot of your choice of spirit, and $10 for a pint of Newcastle and shot of Jameson. The house cocktails, aptly called libations, as there is a careful ritual in the mixing of these drinks, range from $12 to $14. At happy hour, every day until 7:30 p.m., you can get $2 off any of the bars creations.

One-Eyed Gypsy offers more than fantastic food and drink. Patrons can play free skeeball too.

The Rabbit Hole owners, Randy Hill and Alexander Maximillian, hang out in their version of Wonderland.

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M Geeky and I know it!

The Sex Geekdom group visits Bawdy Storytelling at Barbella Bar in L.A.

Geek Meet-ups
Do you dig Harry Potter? Zombies? Or maybe just sex? Theres a group for you.
By Agnes Constante, Mayra Escobedo, Jacqueline Kalisch and Natalie Rivera Illustrations By Jacqueline Kalisch

Meet-ups are way more than just your moms book club these days. And with a smartphone at your side, you can meet new friends and keep them at a safe distance until you decide you might want to meet in person. Even if you think youre weird, youre not.

No matter if youre a Harry Potter fan, a ghost-hunter, a goth, or an incurable flirt, theres a group for you. Weve scoured the globe to come up with the best specialty meet-ups, dating sites and apps. Find your friends and get your freak on!

DATING SITES

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APPS FOR GETTING YOUR GEEK ON iFlirt Flirting is hard. How to
charm someone on the first approach? Now, thanks to iFlirt, you can call up flawless one-liners at your fingertips.

HARRY POTTER MEET-UP

Its been six years since the final Harry Potter novel and two years since the film series ended. Fortunately, the Los Angeles Dumbledores Army (LADA) is keeping the magic alive. The group of adult Harry Potter fans, named after the rebellious group of wizards from the best-selling book series, started in 2008 with a mere 50 members, but their ranks have since swelled. The groups meet-ups dont involve wand-waving and potion-makingtheyre more like skate nights, bowling and pub crawls. Each year they have special events that involve about 650 members, and due to the occasional presence of liquor, LADA requires that all members be at least 21 years old. The groups next meet-up will be a Harry Potter Roller Skating Night on April 13 at Moonlight Rollerway in Glendale. LADA was formed around the desire for people to be around others who like the same nerdy stuff they do. My husband and friends werent really that much of a fan as I was, so I wanted to make a group that loves Harry Potter as much as I do, said group organizer Adrienne, who chose to withold her last name. We all have other lives. Some of us are paralegals and accountants, but we all just love Harry Potter.

PARANORMAL MEET-UP
Its a cold night in San Pedro as a group of 20 friends make their way onto the World War ll-era S.S. Lane Victory. They separate into small groups and disperse across the ship. They break out equipment including EMF readers, digital thermometers, an Ovilus X and lasers. The group is the South Bay Paranormal Investigators. And yestheyre looking for ghosts. If you dont come for the ghosts, then you can still learn about history, said Valentina Marie Lomborg, the groups organizer. Only serious investigators are allowed to stay in the group, which was founded in November of 2012. Lomborg has kicked people out for not taking the group seriously. Group members that have paranormal equipment bring it on investigations. Those that dont or want to learn can team up with more experienced members. And sometimes, the group get a response. On the S.S. Lane Victory, when asked What is your name? the Ovilus X, a speech synthesis device that processes electromagnetic waves, chirped out Bill. Upcoming investigations will include the Whaley House Museum in San Diego and Preston Castle in Ione.

SEX GEEK MEET-UP

If you have a keen interest in the diverse aspects of sex, congratulationsyoure a geek. According to SexGeekdom.com, sex geekdom is an identification used by many people in the sex-positive community to describe their unusual, academic, and/or voracious interest in sexual knowledge. Kate McCombs, the groups founder, frequently guest lectures around the world on sexual topics, and sex geekdom meetings now take place in Los Angeles, Madison, Wisc., and Melbourne and Sydney, Austrailia. Despite the name, you shouldnt be misled as to the groups intent. Were not a hook-up space, said Jenna Gaarde, an emissary for Sex Geekdom LA. People are grown-ups, and if they want to go home together they can. But its not the type of space where people come to seek sexual partners. The LA meet-ups started in August 2012, and the group has about 40 members, most in their 20s and 30s. Members meet at Barbella Bar in Los Angeles on the first Friday of each month. The group also attended Bawdy Storytelling in February, where spectators shared their sex stories. The group welcomes everyone interested.

ZOMBIE DATING
If your ideal match has moldy green skin and the smell of a 17-week-old burrito, theres finally a dating site for you. ZombieHarmony.com offers single zombie enthusiasts a chance to sink their teeth into the dating scene. You can search by fastor slowmoving zombies, and even choose if you want your potential partner to have all limbs attached or not. Rememberthe zombie apocalypse doesnt have to be lonely. www.ZombieHarmony.com

GAMER DATING
Are you a passionate gamer? Heavy on the passion? If your Xbox or Wii needs a soul-mate, or if you want more than just a raiding partner in World of Warcraft, GamingPassions.com can help you fill that player-two void. The site allows single gamers to find someone to date or simply talk to those that share the same video game passion that you do. Just fill out a quick description of your interests and what you look for in a mate and youll be on your way to having someone to play with. www.GamingPassions.com MEET UP SITES

SCI-FI DATING
When you want to fulfill your Prime Directive and find your Star Trek or Star Wars soul mate, TrekPassions.com is the place to go. Even though Trek is in the name, this dating site is all-inclusive for sci-fi fans of any stripe. And heyRobert Heinlein believed in free love, right? Find your Princess Leia or Han Solo, and enjoy playing with your lightsabers togetherno judgment. www.TrekPassions.com

And it works in 15 different languages! So now you can say, Te doli cuando te caste del cielo? with confidence. Flirting has never been this easy!

Bang Your Friends If you want to bang a friend but dont know how to ask theres an app for that.
Facebooks Bang Your Friends app can serve as a facilitator of hookups between friends. After authorizing the app, users can select which of their friends they would like to sleep with. If those friends mutually want to get down n dirty, theyre informed by the app. The detailsare up to the parties involved.

GrubTonight GrubTonight

Harry Potter www.Meetup.com/LosAngelesDumbledoresArmy Paranormal www.Meetup.com/South-Bay-Paranormal-Investigators Sex Geek www.sexgeekdom.com

is an app that links you with other hungry people in your area and arranges for you to eat together when youre alone. Join a spontaneous dinner party anytime!

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By Jim McLauchlin Photo by JOnathan Bue

THE NORSE HOLLYWOOD VIKINGS

Swords! Horns! Chicken and waffles! Its all part of a raid with the Norse Hollywood Vikings

VALLEY GIRL
Totally out or totally bitchen?
Tony Swatton shows a young patron the kinder side of a viking in the childrens play area of Burbanks Ikea.
By spencer kilgore

The story startsas many more shouldwith Swedish meatballs. Tony Swatton is the owner and operator of The Sword and the Stone, a Burbank blacksmith shop that cranks out custom metalwork. Most of Swattons jobs come from the movie and TV industry. Youve seen those Capital One Whats in your wallet? commercials with the marauding Vikings? Theyre all decked out in Swattons swords and helmets.

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VIKING UP!
You wont find knock offs here!
The Sword and the Stone is all about production during the week. But the showroom is open on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. You can start building your OWN gearthey sell a make-your-own chainmail kit for $35, plus $5 per pound for additional metal. Visit them at: Sword and Stone 723 N. Victory Blvd. Burbank, CA 91502 818-562-6548 www.SwordAndStone. com

The Vikings genesis

2010, Light of the Valkyries, a northern lights planetarium show, opened at Griffith Observatory. Swatton and eight Vikings showed up with battle axes, swords and spears. The staff hastily hand-lettered a weapons check sign at the door, and the Vikings happily turned over their arms for the duration of the show. The staff and customers had a great time with the Vikings, and the event even made the Observatorys Griffith Observer official magazine.

One day in 2010, a delivery crate arrived at the shop as Swatton and some friends were getting ready to head to dinner. It was the return of Viking props from a Capital One commercial shoot. As Swatton unpacked the crate, his friends debated dinner. Mexican? Burgers? Swatton had another idea, and a certain craving. The Burbank Ikea, that famed Scandinavian furniture store, was less than a mile away. And well, they did have all this Viking gear We had 12 or 15 people in the shop that day, and I said, Lets all dress as Vikings and get some Swedish meatballs! Swatton recalls. His friends were strangely taken by the idea, and after fastening on some armor and helmets, the Norse Hollywood Vikings were spontaneously born. No one much knew what to think when a dozen Vikings wandered into Ikea. Many customers thought they were part of a promotion. The staff kept a respectful distance. But after a couple minutes, people loosened up, Swatton said. People were asking to take pictures with us, and everyone had a good time. Swatton decided that, in true marauding fashion, the Norse Hollywood Vikings would raid again. On May 18,

Raiding Ikea
These days, the Vikings raids happen about once a month. We like to maybe go to an art gallery opening, and then Roscoes Chicken and Waffles, Swatton said. Vikings always like to eat. But the main point is just to go out in public, check peoples reactions, and have fun. And eat. The Vikings have also taken a philanthropic turn. For the last three years, theyve played the Sparrow Warriors, a Pirates of the Caribbean-styled group, in a flag football game for charity on Super Bowl weekend. We have to open it to all pirates now, Swatton said, dismissively. We kick their asses every year. Swatton encourages new Vikings to join the horde anytime. The Sword and the Stone is open to the public on Saturdays (see Viking up!), and the store sells or rents Viking gear and other custom metalwork. Many of the movie and TV props Swatton has created are also on display. Most people have no idea what theyre walking into when they come here for the first time, he said. Its like a mini-museum.

In the iconic 1982 Frank and Moon Unit Zappa song Valley Girl, the 14-year-old Moons lines were not so much lyrics as they were squeals of ditzy excitement: Like, OH MY GOD!/ Like, TOTALLY!/ Encino is like SO BITCHEN/ And like, all these, like, really great shoe stores/ I love going into like clothing stores and stuff/ I like, buy the neatest mini-skirts and stuff/ It's, like, so BITCHEN! The notion of the Valley Girl existed in Los Angeles since the 1970s, but the Zappas song took it national. Suddenly teens across the nation were speaking in Valleyspeak, imitating affluent, ditzy girls from the San Fernando Valley who loved late-night partying and were obsessed with shopping. But does the Valley Girl still exist? Jennifer Ramos thinks so. The 23-yearold makeup artist is a self-professed Valley Girl. You do everything in the Valley, youre just from hereyoure a certain type of per-

son, she said while roaming the Sherman Oaks Galleria, a hub of Valley Girl culture. Parts of the Valley are real upper-crust or shi-shi. And Im shi-shi, so thats why I consider myself a Valley Girl. Its right hereall the fashion, all the money. But the San Fernando Valley isnt all upper crust. Sylmar and Panorama City tend to lose the touch of glamour thats found in Sherman Oaks and Woodland Hills. But that doesnt stop some from identifying as a Valley Girl. In fact, 18-year-old Cesar Chavez High School senior Griselda Murillo, born and raised in San Fernando, the heart of the Valley, doesnt think the upscale element is what makes a Valley Girl. As far as shes concerned, Valley Girls are part of the lower to middle class. I hear people say, Oh, the Valley is ghetto, but I take pride in it, Murillo said. Maybe other people think its bad, but we think its a good thing.

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But outside perspectives are hard to change. Just ask CSUN liberal studies major Diana Alcala. I have friends from out of state, and they always make fun of what they consider to be the Valley Girl, Alcala said. When you talk to them and they realize youre actually smart, theyre surprised. They ask why Im not the way they expected I would be. Louella de Los Angeles, originally from the Bay Area, has been living on the west side of Los Angeles for 10 years. She said the Valley Girl can actually be anyone, anywhere. It can be a girl who lives in freaking Santa Monica who fits the stereotype, but you dont call her a Valley Girl, she said. Its just like, Oh, thats a California chick or you know, a stereotypical beach bunny. You can see that in all types of people, de Los Angeles said. Valley Girl? Not so relevant.

YLike Y As IF Y Totally Y Duh Y

Photo by Brittany Douziech

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THE DAY JOB

Hey a Vikings gotta work too!

If youve turned on the tube or watched a movie in the past 20 years, chances are youve seen Tony Swattons creations. Swatton has created all this and more for

big-time Hollywood productions The Infinity Gauntlet from Thor and The Avengers Swords for all the Pirates of the Caribbean movies

Dozens of murder weapons for CSI and Criminal Minds Custom crucifixes for Sons of Anarchy Batarangs from Batman Forever and Batman Returns

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