Apr 16, 2013 Meeting Imprint LBC’s Jonathan Gold, Chad Tim Tim, Justin Reynolds, and Paul Kwon
The Long Beach: Work in Progress conference is just a week away and the pieces are coming together… This is one of the coolest projects I’ve ever worked on, with an incredible team and unbelievable collaborators, and I expect it to be an amazing event as well.
After months of playing email tag with the Pulitzer Prize winning food writer Jonathan Gold (above left), I finally had lunch with him last week. He had just filed a piece for the Los Angeles Times and asked me if I wanted to meet for “greasy spoon Indonesian at Top” or “fancy tacos at Cacao.” Of course, I chose the former. Jonathan is famous for enjoying under-the-radar hole-in-the-walls as much as three-star Michelin joints, and the mini mall eatery is no head turner. The unassuming sign is literally falling off the wall, and the flavored heat can be off the charts as well. Jonathan ordered a noodle and rice dish with spiciness “times ten” and the egg on the side. He offered it to me, and the runny yolk helped to tame the less dangerous yet formidable vegetable and rice dish that I ordered.
We handled some business regarding the upcoming Long Beach: Work in Progress conference but mostly just talked about life. Our past writing gigs, the state of print media, our favorite movies (Asian and not, cannibalism and not), and parenthood. We talked a lot about music. Jonathan went to UCLA to compose experimental music and reviewed Classical music because no one else wanted to. An editor asked him to write for restaurant review issue and the rest is history. But did you know that Jonathan has incredible stories and opinions about Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and other Long Beach rappers that he spent time with back in the day? It’s likely that he’ll share some of them next week–not to mention the scoop on unique Long Beach restaurants that you probably drive right by all the time.
By the time you read this, I’ll have also reconvened with not only skate shoe designer Paul Kwon and Resource Distribution’s Justin Reynolds (above, right) but pro skater Chad Tim Tim. (The fourth skate panelist Ricki Bedenbaugh is in China.) Like food, the topic of skateboarding is near and dear to me. It’s something that many take for granted as a bunch of testosterone-loaded, foul-mouthed dudes who make a racket and destroy public property. Yes, that element is true. But skateboarding is not a sport or hobby; it’s a living culture with aesthetics and energy that involve re-imagining what is possible as well as the re-interpretation of space–not to mention driving art, design, music, and fashion. Chad, Justin, Paul, and I will fine-tune our thoughts on skateboarding and crystallize why Long Beach is an epicenter of it and as well as how it can be appreciated, cultivated, and enjoyed by everyone in the community.
Check out Justin and Chad in Project Hardware’s Deconstruction video filmed by OG Long Beach skate filmmaker Mark Nisbet in 2006 on YouTube.
Please visit the Imprint LBC site for more information and ticketing, and I’ll see you on April 26 at the Edison Theatre in Downtown Long Beach.