Saturday, June 26, 2010

I'm leaving my couch for Say Something Funny...B*tch!

I'm a weekly columnist for a great blog featuring women comics and writers, Say Something Funny B*tch! For my column, Laura Mannino Has Left The Couch, I write about different events around LA, which what I should've thought for this blog instead of waiting around for something to happen or to do something or have an opinion about something. Here's my first three columns! Check out SSFB every Saturday for a new post! If you'd like to check out some past posts, this time with correct grammar and tighter sentences, check out my profile on Funny Not Slutty!

Friday, June 25, 2010

LA: This Week In Crowds

This week Angelenos got out of the cars to stand around for various reasons: to celebrate the West Coast's version of the Yankees, to buy phones that don't actually work as phones, to mourn a dead celeb, and see celebs that play the undead.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

LA Vacation Suggestions 1: Obama Family Edition

The First Lady and First Grandma at the Staples Center last night.
LA is all 'a-Twitter" about the First Lady's family trip to LA this week. The First Family has been sighted at Luques, Pink's, and Pizzeria Mozza. I wonder if Mrs. Obama received a similar scolding like I did from the server at Mozza for bending the binding of the wine list cover. Mrs. Obama was also at last night's Game 6 of the NBA Finals. Many were wondering if the First Lady was rooting for the Celtics or the Lakers. I hope she was rooting for the Clippers. I'd like to make some suggestions for the rest of the Obama family's trip:
  • Robin Hood British Pub in Sherman Oaks: The quality of the website says it all. This place is as authentically Briitsh as the off-duty cop patrons are authentically Irish.
  • That Pupuseria next to the Auto Body Repair place on Temple and Figueroa Streets in Echo Park: The Obama Family's parade of black SUVs are bound to get scratched in this town. While the car's bumper is getting a touch up, I recommend grabbing a pork rind pupusa.
  • Tang's Donuts in Silver Lake: Yes, it sounds like a porn set in a donut shop. It's like naming a salad place, "Taint's Tossed."
  • Blue Goose Lounge in Hollywood: There's no windows, the entrance is a heavy, rusted door, the bathroom smells like mildew, the taps don't work, there's a bunch of mismatched sofa strewn about for that "burnt-out Levitz showroom" feel, and whatever you do, don't get the tacos. Aside from that, its lovely. Keep in mind, the rave reviews on Yelp are probably written by 22-year-olds.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

California Field Trips #4: Laguna Beach

We stayed at The Pacific Edge

Views from our balcony

See, it's art because it's expensive.
Over Memorial Day weekend (and my birthday) Alex and I went to Laguna Beach. Alex actually surprised me and during most of our time in the car, I had no idea where we were going. The time we were driving on south on the 110, I thought to myself, "Well, maybe there is a fabulous spa in Compton." We found ourselves in Laguna Beach. The beach is beautiful, the town is quaint, and there's nothing remotely LA-ish about it. I can't really put my finger on why something is and isn't LA. I didn't see anyone working on a screenplay in the beach shack coffee shop next door or any 50 year-old men in Ed Hardy t-shirts. Laguna has same sleepy, beach-y feel of Hawaii. Everyone eats between 6-8 PM, falls asleep by 10 PM, and wakes up 5 am to engage in heavy recreational physical activity. There's an interesting blend of residents in Laguna Beach: wealthy professionals, retirees, and art population that serves the wealthy. professionals and retirees. On every block there is an art gallery, art classes or school, shop, ceramic studios, and jewelry stores. The art is very specific rich lady art: a lot of stone sculptures of voluptuous lady figures and jewelry made up of giant, mother of pearl slabs, all marked up 300%. The art scene seemed really active and vibrant and I'm sure there's amazing work that's not being marketed to tourists and the nouveau riche. I was on the prowl for the new cast of Laguna Beach, but didn't see one self-entitled, beautiful teenager traipsing about. Maybe Lauren and Lo and crew got MTV's attention only because they were the only teenagers in Laguna Beach. The only teenager I found was a Justin Bieber-ish naïf that showed us to our table at my birthday dinner. Maybe Laguna has some revered Children of the Corn policy. See, now that's a show about Laguna Beach!

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Shitcanned-tivities #6: Naps

Take naps. Do you remember when you were working and you'd crave chocolate or coffee at 3 PM, anything to help you make it to 5PM? You'll begin to feel that way about naps. There's nothing that beats the 3-4 PM Oprah nap. Well, maybe a paycheck.

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