Lifestyle
L.A. Affairs: I had casually known her for 5 years. Was I finally ready to make a move?
In Fairfax, nestled on Beverly Boulevard near Pan Pacific Park, I ran a modest yet beloved pan-Asian restaurant called Buddha’s Belly. More than a place to eat, it was a gathering spot where our team and loyal regulars created an atmosphere of warmth and community. Every day, we exchanged stories about our guests, the generous, the quirky and the kind souls whose smiles lit up our little corner of L.A.
For five years, one regular stood out. The Buddha’s Belly team referred to her as “Aloha.” She had a familiar and beautiful face and she adored our shao bing finger sandwiches and pad Thai. During those five years, all I ever said to her was: “How’s your pad Thai?,” “Nice to see you” and “Thanks for coming in!” Her friendly smile and presence were the highlights of our routine interactions.
Then one hectic afternoon changed everything. Rushing to a meeting and about to leap into my car, I caught a glimpse of Lynda sitting at Table 64, smiling at me through our bamboo-lined patio (a.k.a. “bamboo forest”). I went over to say a quick hi.
“How’s your pad Thai?” I asked, and then I was off.
A couple blocks from the restaurant, I was struck by the feeling that our brief encounter was different this time. There was a spark — a look in her eye. So I did something out of character: I called the manager on duty and asked him to go to Table 64, Seat 3, and ask for her number.
The next day, I found a business card on my desk with Lynda’s cell number. It was on! That small gesture signaled the start of something extraordinary.
Eager to seize the moment, I called and invited her out for a date that same weekend. However, it was her birthday month, and that meant her calendar was booked solid for the next three to four weekends. Not wanting to let time slip away, I proposed an unconventional plan: to join me and an octogenarian friend at our annual opening night at the Hollywood Bowl. Little did I know this would turn out to be equal parts amazing and mortifying. My friend was so excited — she had no filter.
Shortly after picking up our dinner at Joan’s on Third, my friend started asking Lynda questions, first light questions like “Where are you from?” and “What do you do?” Then once seated at the Bowl, her questions continued. But now they were more pointed questions: “Have you ever been married?” and “Do you have kids?”
Amazingly, Lynda didn’t flinch, and her honesty, unfiltered yet graceful, was refreshing and alluring. She had been through life’s fires and knew that when it’s a fit, it should not be based on any false pretense. Although I did manage to get a few questions in that evening, I still chuckle at the memory of myself, sitting back, legs extended with a note pad in hand taking notes!
After dropping her off, she didn’t know if she would hear from me, as she didn’t know anything about me. But I didn’t wait three days to contact Lynda. I called her the next day to make plans to see her again. With it still being her birthday month, I asked her to join me that night for a surf film at the Ford with my best buddy. She said yes, and there we were on another chaperoned date.
By our third date, we were finally alone. We ventured to an underground gem affectionately dubbed the “Blade Runner” restaurant. Hidden on Pico Boulevard behind no obvious sign and characterized by hood-free mesquite grills and stacked wine crates, the place exuded a secret charm. Sharing a bottle of wine with the owner, our conversation deepened, and the electricity between Lynda and me became undeniable.
Our story took another turn when I was opening a new bar named Copa d’Oro (or Cup of Gold) in Santa Monica that was similar to a bar down the street called Bar Copa. The owner of Bar Copa invited me to discuss whether the concept was going to be too like his own. While we waited in the packed room, I instinctively put my hand around the small of Lynda’s back to steady us from the ebb and flow of the crowd of people around us. The intensity of our closeness and the energy between us was palpable, and we soon found ourselves at a quieter bar called Schatzi on Main where we had our first kiss.
Our courtship continued, and it would be defined by ease and grace. There were no mind games or calculations. One of us would ask whether the other was free, and it was an easy yes. Our desire was to be together.
I fondly remember being at a Fatburger not far from where Lynda lived, and I phoned her to ask if she wanted to sit with me as I scarfed down a Double Kingburger with chili and egg (yum!), and she said yes. By the time she arrived, I was halfway through eating the sandwich. But I was practicing a new way of eating a sloppy burger that my brother taught me. Why bother to continuously wipe your mouth when you’re only going to mess it up with the next bite? To save time and energy, wipe your mouth once at the end.
I was practicing this new technique with a smear of sauce on my face, and it didn’t faze her one bit. I could only imagine what her internal monologue was!
After six months of effortless companionship, I asked Lynda to move in, and a year later, while at Zephyr’s Bench, a serene and cherished hiking spot in the Santa Monica Mountains behind Bel-Air, I asked her to marry me.
Now, more than 17 years later, with two beautiful boys and our pandemic dog in tow, I can say I found my own aloha right here in the vibrant chaos of Los Angeles.
The author lives in Santa Monica with his wife and two children. They go to the Hollywood Bowl every chance they can. He’s also aspiring to make it into the Guinness World Records book.
L.A. Affairs chronicles the search for romantic love in all its glorious expressions in the L.A. area, and we want to hear your true story. We pay $400 for a published essay. Email LAAffairs@latimes.com. You can find submission guidelines here. You can find past columns here.
Lifestyle
‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ remembers every Nintendo moment ever : Pop Culture Happy Hour
Mario (Chris Pratt) in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.
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Universal Pictures
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is the ultimate piece of Nintendo fan service. Mario (Chris Pratt), Luigi (Charlie Day), Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) are on an outer space adventure to save Princess Rosalina (Brie Larson). The film features other beloved Nintendo characters like Bowser (Jack Black) and Yoshi (Donald Glover) – and a few surprises. It’s a sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which made more than a billion dollars worldwide.
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Kid Cudi is lounging in a colorful attic much like the one in his childhood home in Cleveland.
He’s surrounded by treasures of his childhood: movie posters of “The Last Dragon” and “The Truman Show” (the latter inspired artwork for his latest album, “Free”), a Nintendo 64 game console, a vintage house phone with a long cord, posters of Outkast and Nirvana, a green lava lamp and at least a dozen Pokémon figures. A makeshift window on the back wall opens onto what looks like a portal to outer space.
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Kid Cudi gives a tour of his “Big Bro with Kid Cudi” podcast studio.
“It’s kind of like the world outside of this attic,” the Grammy-winning and multihyphenate artist says, reaching toward the window as if he could leap through and enter another dimension. “It’s like you’re traveling through the cosmos.”
The ’90s-themed attic, which he says is a metaphor for his mind, serves as the backdrop for his latest project: a podcast called “Big Bro With Kid Cudi,” premiering Wednesday via Wave Sports and Entertainment.
The idea to launch a podcast began during the pandemic, when touring — and the world — came to a screeching halt. By then, Cudi, born Scott Mescudi, had already logged 20 years of a successful emo rap career, launched a clothing line, forged an acting career and created an animated film. Still, he was eager to explore a fresh frontier.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
“I was really hyped on the idea of having a weekly show where I’m kind of like shooting the s— with my friends and having real positive conversations,” says Cudi, 42. “I want it to be a light in people’s lives. Something they can just put on, tune out the world and have a good time.”
He named it “Big Bro” because that’s exactly how he’s been seen by fans and peers throughout his career.
“I realized that’s who I am,” says Cudi. “I’m the one that’s meant to show you what not to do in life and how to avoid the same mistakes that I’ve fallen for in my life.” Big Bro is also the name of his mental health foundation for youth that he launched earlier this year.
Inside Kid Cudi’s studio are posters of Wu Tang Clan and Nirvana, an Ohio license plate, a Polaroid camera, a Nintendo 64 and more.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
Now in his 40s, married and fully independent from a record label (hence the album title “Free”), Cudi is in a different place in life.
“I’m just so f— happy,” he says, flashing a luminous smile. His outfit, an Off White hoodie and a fleece bucket hat with a tortoise on the front, is just as uplifting and whimsical as his attitude. “People are going to see the joy on my face when they see the episodes. I think my fans really enjoy seeing me happy and that’s the most beautiful thing about my career — it’s that these fans really care about me.”
After years of opening up about his struggles with addiction, loneliness and depression through his music (on tracks like “Soundtrack 2 My Life,” “Trapped in My Mind” and “The Void”), in the press and in his 2025-released memoir. Despite being so vocal, Cudi still retains a mystique quality that fascinates fans. The podcast, he says, is a space for him to open up more than he already has.
“He’s a larger-than-life figure,” says John Fontanelli, director of original content at Wave and the lead producer on “Big Bro.” “He has a lot of different aliases and personas. He’s a very funny and relatable person and I think that comes through with him as a host.”
“I was really hyped on the idea of having a weekly show where I’m kind of like shooting the s— with my friends and having real positive conversations,” says Kid Cudi, 42.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
To bring his vision to life, Cudi teamed up with Wave Sports and Entertainment, which is home to shows like “7pm in Brooklyn” with NBA Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony, “Straight to Cam” with hosts WNBA star Cameron Brink and NBA wife Sydel Curry-Lee and “So True” with comedian Caleb Hearon. Wave was the only company that was “gung-ho” about his show idea and building out the production set of his dreams, he says. Inspired by the set design for Big Tigger’s “Rap City: The Basement” show on BET, Cudi wanted to fill his podcast set with items that reflect his personality and energy.
“I love that set,” he says. “There was this theme where all the guests kind played along like they were really coming to his mom’s house and it was so cool,” he says.
Before filming his first episode, Cudi binged several podcasts and tapped people like writer, producer and actor Lena Waithe, whose guidance helped him navigate hosting and connect authentically with his guests. And of course, he created the catchy jingle for the show himself, which includes the lyrics “Big bro / chillin with big bro” in his signature flow.
Each week, Cudi will sit down with a mix of unexpected guests for wide-ranging, playful conversations that uncover new sides of both his guests and himself. The premiere episode features entrepreneur and reality TV star Kylie Jenner, who rarely does podcasts or sit-down interviews.
“I think it will shed a lot of light on the sides of her life that she doesn’t normally talk about like motherhood, being a businesswoman and juggling both things,” says Cudi. “I was asking her very thoughtful questions and she was being very upfront and transparent, so I felt like this was like a really great episode to start with.”
Each Wednesday, Kid Cudi will sit down with a guest to talk about life, creativity and more.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
Though fans may be expecting the show to tackle mental health and other difficult topics, Cudi plans to keep the conversations lighthearted and fun. “I feel like when we get into the mental health stuff, it can get really heavy and at least right now, I don’t want that to be the tone for the show,” he says. “This podcast, for me, needs to be really positive. The conversation needs to be fun, like no stress and not triggering for anyone.”
The podcast is just one piece of a much larger creative surge unfolding in Cudi’s orbit. Later this month, he will kick off the Rebel Ragers tour along with guests including M.I.A., A-Trak, me n ü, Big Boi and Cudi’s longtime producer, collaborator and friend, Dot Da Genius.
Under the artistic alias Scotty Ramon, he also hosted his first solo art exhibit, “Echoes of the Past,” at Ruttkowski;68 gallery in Paris. “I went years not knowing if I could paint and not only could I do it all along, there’s people in the world that are going to f— with it,” he says. He’s already finished with his next art collection, which he plans to showcase in New York next year.
With short films like “Mr. Miracle” and “Neverland” already under his belt, he’s been digging deeper into his director bag as well.
“I’m just so f— happy,” says Kid Cudi. “People are going to see the joy on my face when they see the episodes. I think my fans really enjoy seeing me happy and that’s the most beautiful thing about my career— it’s that these fans really care about me.”
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
“I’m somebody who was raised watching the Wayans,” he says. “Some mother— who came in here and were like ‘We’re gonna do it like this.’ People like Robert Townsend and I just know what’s hot. I know what’s funny. I know what’s cool and I know what stories we haven’t seen.”
With his Mad Solar production and music management company, he is the star of an upcoming film called “God Backwards,” which he says will be released later this year. On top of all of that, he recently began streaming on Twitch (“Someone Cooked Here”), where he showcases his music making process including his four-track EP “Have U Bn 2 Heaven @ Nite?” which released in March.
As he continues to dive into different mediums, Cudi says the mission remains the same: to continue evolving, challenging himself artistically and inspiring people along the way.
“[It] makes me feel so good as an artist that I can take this leap into another realm and I’ll still have support,” he says. “There’s people who are like ‘Cudi painting now? Right now. What else you got, kid?’ I love it.”
“Big Bro With Kid Cudi” will drop new episodes every Wednesday starting April 1 on YouTube and other streaming platforms.
A satirical statue of President Trump and the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein went up in front of the U.S. Capitol in February. The temporary statue drew huge crowds that amplified the image by posting it on social media. The statue is a play on the iconic scene from the film Titanic and is called “King of the World.”
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images
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Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images
WASHINGTON — There’s a propaganda war playing out on the National Mall between the Trump administration and its critics. The administration has hung giant banners bearing President Trump’s face from several federal buildings. His name now adorns both the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the United States Institute of Peace.
Meanwhile, an anonymous group called the Secret Handshake has put up satirical statues of Trump and artworks that emphasize everything from the president’s friendship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to Trump’s taste for marble and gold leaf.
Another group, the Save America Movement, has plastered posters on fences and walls mocking members of Trump’s Cabinet. One shows a photo of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and says, “Fascism Ain’t Pretty.” Another shows Attorney General Pam Bondi and reads, “Epstein Queen.”
The Save America Movement, a nonprofit, has plastered posters around Washington, D.C. This one mocks Attorney General Pam Bondi for her handling of the Epstein files.
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Save America Movement/Save America Movement
A man poses for a photograph with a gold-painted, faux-marble toilet sculpture titled “A Throne Fit For a King” that was installed March 31 near the Lincoln Memorial. The Secret Handshake, an artist collective, put up the statue, which mocks President Trump’s renovation of the White House bathroom attached to the Lincoln Bedroom, a project that drew criticism for taking place during a government shutdown.
Probal Rashid/LightRocket via Getty Images
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Probal Rashid/LightRocket via Getty Images
“We think that ridicule is a really important tool in an opposition toolbox to fight authoritarianism,” said Mary Corcoran, who runs the Save America Movement, a nonprofit.
Corcoran adds that she doesn’t see this as a fair fight “because they’re using taxpayer dollars to fund their propaganda, and we’re not.”
The White House rejects criticisms that the president is recasting the National Mall in his own image and using federal buildings for self-aggrandizement.
Workers hung this banner in February from the Department of Justice headquarters. Visitors and scholars liken it to the political iconography seen in authoritarian states such as China and the former Soviet Union.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
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Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
“President Trump is focused on saving our country — not garnering recognition,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle told NPR by email. “A variety of organizations are free to share their opinions publicly, even when they lack any basis in reality.”
The National Mall is known as America’s front yard, and includes monuments and museums designed to unify the nation and celebrate democracy.
Last month, a gold-painted statue depicting Trump holding Epstein’s outstretched arms on the prow of a ship as though they were Jack and Rose on the Titanic drew a steady stream of people who laughed and posed in front of it for photos.
Not everyone was amused.
“It’s a gross interpretation of our president,” said Andi Lynn Helmy, a high school senior from Jacksonville, Fla. “Even if you don’t agree with his policies … I think it’s just an incredibly disrespectful thing.”
The battle of images playing out on the National Mall has yielded remarkable juxtapositions. They include this giant banner of President Trump, which hangs from the Department of Labor. In the foreground are banners put up by the anonymous group the Secret Handshake, which read “Make America Safe Again” and emphasize the president’s friendship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The Epstein banners are a rebuttal to a Trump banner that hangs from the Department of Justice and also reads “Make America Safe Again.”
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Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Other visitors took exception to the president’s face staring down from those banners on the Department of Labor, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Justice. They likened it to the images of personalized rule seen in the People’s Republic of China during the Chairman Mao Tse-Tung era and the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin.
“I just feel like he’s sort of painting himself as the king of America,” said Luke Price, a freshman at the University of Vermont. “I just don’t think that’s what we’re about. America is a democracy, not a dictatorship.”
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