Lifestyle
How to have the best Sunday in L.A., according to Andrew Bird
For Andrew Bird, Sundays hold special meaning. Those were the days when jazz would be etched into his subconscious before sunrise — as a 20-something living in Chicago, he’d doze off to late-night music broadcasts on local radio, listening to greats like Lester Young and Coleman Hawkins.
Now, two decades later, Bird’s latest album “Sunday Morning Put-On” (with Ted Poor on drums and Alan Hampton on bass) pays homage to those early influences.
In Sunday Funday, L.A. people give us a play-by-play of their ideal Sunday around town. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on the weekends.
These days, Sundays look a bit different for the singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and whistler, but they’re still a time for decompressing. “I don’t really have a typical 9-to-5, ‘Thank-God-it’s-Friday’ lifestyle, but Sunday is the closest thing to that,” said Bird, who has released 16 studio albums since his debut in 1996. “It’s the one day I can carve out time for non-work, creative things.”
Bird and his wife, Katherine Tsina, along with their 13-year-old son, have set down roots in Northeastern L.A., which they’ve called home for the last 11 years. Bird is currently on tour and will play two shows at the Hollywood Bowl in August, with Pink Martini.
For Bird, an avid mountain biker, being able to be outside any day of the year is one of the best things about living in L.A. “I love mountains,” he says. “I’m just a lot healthier here than I was anywhere else.”
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for length and clarity.
8:30 a.m.: Wake up with pancakes and jazz
We’ll make breakfast, coffee, put on a jazz record and take it pretty easy. Sometimes we’ll make pancakes, like Dutch baby pancakes with lots of fruit on top. That’s kind of a special Sunday treat. Other than that, eggs and bacon, and lots of stone fruit berries.
9 a.m.: Grab my bike and hit the trails
If I’ve got a mountain biking ride scheduled with some other folks, we’ll either meet up at Dirt Mulholland or JPL (I just say JPL for all of the trails that are in Altadena via the Arroyo Seco River). That’s my ideal spot, it’s about 15 minutes away. I’ll ride up the Gabrielino Trail where there’s horses, hikers, bikers, but it all depends on the temperature. If the weather report says 75 to 80 degrees, it’s borderline too hot. Up above when it’s exposed, it’s really more like 90 degrees. I’ve come close to having heatstroke up there.
If it’s too hot, you stay down on the river bed, which right now has a lot of water in it so you get wet going across six or seven river crossings on your bike. It’s really an almost jungle-like environment. It’s really like another world. If you’re used to Griffith Park, which is just scrub and piles of loose sand and quartz, this feels much more tropical and remote.
11 a.m.: Refuel with fresh pasta or sandwiches
After that, not too far away is this deli that I’ve just been really into lately called Ferrazzani’s. It’s part of Semolina Artisanal Pastas company and they make fresh pasta right there. Next door, there’s an Italian market that has cheese and guanciale and fresh pasta and they make like five different sandwiches. They’re all just delicious. It’s a nice spot.
1 p.m.: Have a family sketch session
There was one day when [my family and I] went to the Norton Simon Museum and sketched modern art and that was a pretty awesome day, I have to say. The scale of it reminds me of a Chicago museum in a lot of ways, like a mini Art Institute. And I like the building itself, with all the heath piles on the outside.
My mom was an artist and she used to take me and a bunch of my friends down to the Art Institute and we’d bring sketch pads and sketch whatever we found interesting. I started doing that with my family and I don’t know why more people don’t do it. It makes it a whole different experience and you get to compare your sketches with everyone else that’s sketching the same thing. I’m really not a visual artist, but that one little tradition from childhood is something I really enjoy.
4 p.m.: Stroll through Atwater Village
We spend a lot of time in Atwater Village on Sundays. They have a farmers market and my wife has a shop there, Avion Clothier. That’s been kind of a hub for us for the last nine, 10 years it’s been open. It’s just a cool spot.
In Atwater there’s Alias Books, Proof Bakery and wide sidewalks with cafes. It has street life, which is a rare thing in L.A. and it’s designed like an old western town with a super wide boulevard that you could have a parade on, wide sidewalks, and then normal commerce as opposed to the beige corner strip mall stuff that’s all over Hollywood. If you build it, they will come. It’s pretty hoppin’ these days.
6 p.m.: Sunday family dinner
Afterward we have Sunday family dinner with my wife and son and my sister-in-law who lives down the street. We tend to make homemade bolognese. It’s a joint effort but most of the credit goes to my wife. I’m a line cook.
7:15 p.m.: Watch a movie or jam with my son
And then the extended family comes over and hangs out and we maybe watch a movie all together. Sometimes we kind of split off and my son and I will watch “Rick and Morty” while my wife watches something that’s more her speed. Or my son and I will play ping-pong or tennis or something like that. He just turned 13 and he’s a really good guitarist and singer, but he hasn’t shown any desire to make that his life’s work at the moment. He got really good at the guitar during the pandemic — he plays finger-picking style guitar.
It’s kind of a tricky dynamic because as a professional musician, every time he says he wants to jam, I’m like, “Oh great, OK,” and it lasts about 10 or 15 minutes. Then he goes into a passive resistance mode. So still trying to figure that out. The key is to just kind of be very hands off but it’s hard to repress your pride [as a parent]. He has a good ear and he’s a good musician. But then you say like, “Hey, are you gonna go for a solo in the choir?” And that’s met with like, “Back off.”
9:30 p.m.: Wind down — in bed or on a tour bus
[Bedtime] depends on what phase of the year I’m in with touring or what have you. But when I’m at home, I generally start reading at like 9:30 or 10 p.m. and I’m asleep by 11, maybe. I read a lot at night. Right now I’m reading Don Carpenter’s “Hard Rain Falling.” It’s a ‘50s noir, prison, tough guy sort of novel.
If I’m on a bus tour, I’m in the bunk as soon as the bus starts rolling, by 12:30 or 1 a.m. It’s hard to describe sleeping with 10 other people in like 400 square feet as “luxurious,” but you have a day sheet that tells you what your obligations are for that day, where you have to be, what time. And otherwise you’re kind of off the hook. Life is very simple. So I sleep much better on tour.
Lifestyle
Neil Gaiman has responded to sexual misconduct allegations
Neil Gaiman, one of today’s most influential and commercially successful novelists, has been accused by multiple women of sexual misconduct. The author has denied the allegations. This is what you should know.
- Gaiman’s books include the graphic novel The Sandman, the children’s novella Coraline and a novel he co-wrote with Terry Pratchett, Good Omens. The British author has won prestigious literary honors, including multiple Hugo, Locus and Nebula awards and the John Newbery Medal. His works have inspired movie and TV adaptations. Time magazine included him in its list of the 100 Most Influential People of 2023.
- The sexual misconduct accusations, stretching back decades, first became public in the summer of 2024 in a six-episode series from Tortoise Media called The Master: The Allegations Against Neil Gaiman. In the podcast, five women accused the writer of unwanted sexual behavior, some of it alleged to be violent in nature. Gaiman denied the accusations. No charges have been filed. The podcast included interviews with the women, plus what it said were WhatsApp messages and phone call recordings between Gaiman and two of his accusers. In one conversation, Gaiman allegedly says he “obviously f*** up” and offers to pay an accuser, who goes by the name “Claire,” $60,000 to cover the cost of her therapy. NPR has not been able to independently verify the recordings because “Claire’s” identity is not public.
- More women have now accused Gaiman of sexual misconduct in a New York Magazine cover story published Monday. Some of the alleged behaviors include violent sexual assault and sexual misconduct that occurred while his young son was in the room. Gaiman has denied this. Gaiman’s accusers are adults, but much younger than the author, 64, including one who is nearly 40 years his junior.
- Gaiman responded to the allegations on Tuesday in a lengthy post on his website. Gaiman wrote that he watched the news of the allegations “with horror and dismay”: “As I read through this latest collection of accounts, there are moments I half-recognise and moments I don’t, descriptions of things that happened sitting beside things that emphatically did not happen. I’m far from a perfect person, but I have never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity with anyone. Ever.” He also denied “there was any abuse.”
- Recent fallout has included the suspension of screen adaptations of Gaiman’s works. Deadline reported that Amazon will end production of Good Omens with a 90-minute final episode to be produced this year, instead of a full third season. “Gaiman contributed to the writing of the series finale but will not be working on the production and his production company the Blank Corporation is no longer involved,” Deadline said. Disney paused an adaptation of The Graveyard Book.
- Trade magazine The Bookseller reported that Gaiman hired the crisis management firm Edendale Strategies and lawyer Andrew Brettler, who has represented Danny Masterson and Prince Andrew. Neither party has responded to NPR’s request for comment.
Jennifer Vanasco edited this story. Beth Novey produced the web build.
Lifestyle
Upcoming Benefit Concert For L.A. Wildfires Gets Overwhelming Response From Artists, Bands
The upcoming benefit concert for Los Angeles wildfire victims will be exciting, engaging and will raise a ton of money … and big-name artists and bands are clamoring for a chance to help out.
TMZ has learned … there’s been an outpouring of interest from musicians who want to get involved … so much so, organizers are expanding the scope of this event.
We’re told more than 50 artists and bands have asked to participate … and right now, there are only 24 slots … though organizers are trying to add slots to accommodate the overwhelming response.
The benefit concert, dubbed FireAid, was first announced as being held at the new Intuit Dome in Inglewood, CA … but our sources say it will also be held at The Forum … which is just down the street. That’s how big this is getting.
We’re told the performances will also be live streamed.
The full lineup is still being finalized and we don’t have any names right now … but we’re told all of the performers are based in Los Angeles.
We do know Taylor Swift and Beyoncé — two of the biggest acts in music — will not be involved … but that’s fair, considering they aren’t really rooted in L.A. despite having homes here.
There’s a huge pool to draw from and this concert is going to be HUGE … and it’s going to help lots of folks who are starting from scratch.
TMZ.com
Thousands have been displaced by the Palisades and Eaton Fires and Los Angeles is now tasked with rebuilding over 12,000 structures lost in the inferno.
People lost their homes, their businesses, their cars and basically all of their possessions in the fire … and the rebuilding effort will be massive.
So too will this benefit concert.
Stay tuned!!!
Lifestyle
A Couple Kisses That Sealed the Deal
When Olivia Christine Snyder-Spak matched with Elias Jeremy Stein on Hinge in September 2021, she was a decade into online dating but had never found an ideal partner. “I had probably gone on at least a few hundred first dates, sometimes even doing two in a day,” she said.
Mr. Stein was less versed in internet matchmaking and had been on only a handful of dates over the previous year. “I wanted a serious relationship and decided to try the online route since meeting people in person during Covid was harder,” he said.
At the time, Mr. Stein, 35, was renting an apartment in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn; Ms. Snyder-Spak, 36, lived on Manhattan’s Lower East Side.
The two exchanged messages for a week about their shared love for cooking classes and art projects and exchanging funny stories. Then, Mr. Stein asked Ms. Snyder-Spak on a mini-golfing date.
When they met, in mid-September, at the Putting Green mini-golf course in Brooklyn, Mr. Stein was struck by Ms. Snyder-Spak’s energy. “She was super cute and seemed bubbly,” he said.
They played golf for an hour, chatting about their backgrounds and professions as they navigated the course. “We laughed a lot because Olivia kept hitting the ball far away from the hole,” Mr. Stein said. “The conversation was so good that I asked her for drinks afterward.”
They walked to the nearby Other Half Brewing, sat outside and continued talking over beers for the next several hours. “We were easy with each other, and it was clear we had clicked,” Mr. Stein said.
Eventually, it started to rain heavily. As they waited for their Uber rides, Mr. Stein asked Ms. Snyder-Spak if he could kiss her. “I said yes, and when he smooched me, it felt like a movie kiss,” she said, describing it as “very romantic.”
They settled into a dating cadence almost immediately, seeing each other several times a week for activities like sushi-making, comedy shows and museums. On Halloween, they went to Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn. “The spookiness of a cemetery seemed fitting, and the fact that Eli felt the same way was a big sign that he was going to be a great teammate, down for whatever,” Ms. Snyder-Spak said.
A vacation to Turks and Caicos Islands in January 2022 solidified their commitment. “Our flight back got canceled because of bad weather and a staffing shortage, and the two we booked after that also got canceled,” Mr. Stein said. “We eventually ended up in Miami and got bumped on our flight home.”
Nevertheless, they had fun. “That’s when I knew that Olivia was the one.”
The experience made Ms. Snyder-Spak “realize that I wanted to do hard things together with Eli forever,” she said.
Mr. Stein grew up in Durham, N.C. He is a product manager on the software development team at Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York and the founder of Admissions Intelligence, a college admissions platform that uses artificial intelligence. He has a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Vassar College.
Ms. Snyder-Spak is from Woodbridge, Conn., and works as the director of nonfiction at the entertainment production company Topic Studios, in New York. She has a bachelor’s degree in film from Dartmouth.
After their Turks and Caicos trip, the couple began spending several nights a week at one of their two apartments. In July 2022, they began renting a place, which they’ve since bought, in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
Their bond grew as they decorated their home and traveled to places like Brazil, Portugal and Costa Rica. “My love for Olivia was getting stronger, and it was the right time to propose,” Mr. Stein said.
[Click here to binge read this week’s featured couples.]
On Dec. 13, 2023, during a nighttime picnic in Prospect Park, Mr. Stein asked Ms. Snyder-Spak to marry him as the Geminids meteor shower brightened the skies. As they kissed after she said yes, they caught a glimpse of a shooting star.
More than a year later, on Dec. 29, they wed on the front stoop of a Park Slope brownstone owned by Rabbi Yael Werber, a friend of the couple and the ceremony’s officiant. Rabbi Werber is affiliated with Congregation Beit Simchat Torah. Afterward, they walked to Mille-Feuille Bakery Cafe in Prospect Heights and indulged in three desserts.
In September, Mr. Stein and Ms. Snyder-Spak had hosted a six-day, pre-wedding celebration in Asheville, N.C., for 140 guests; it included activities such as solving a murder mystery, visiting local breweries and tubing down the French Broad River. The festivities culminated in a symbolic wedding ceremony on Sept. 1 at Yesterday Spaces, an event venue in Leicester, N.C.
“All my online dating before Eli was worth it because I found the guy I was looking for all along,” Ms. Snyder-Spak said. “I remember the hard work, but now everything feels like magic.”
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