Archive for the ‘Cool Stuff to Do’ Category

Allen Berg Teams Up with Danny McKeever, Introduces Pro Series Racing Program

Thursday, April 18th, 2013

Allen Berg, former Formula One racer and chief of Allen Berg Racing Schools operating in Fontana, CA, Canada, and now Willow Springs, CA, is introducing a new program that joins his fabulous Formula Cars with FastLine Racing’s Scions. FastLine is famous for training the celebrities that race at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach’s Pro/Celebrity race – and these are the same cars used for the training.
Pro Series Racing Program
The Scions are okay cars to learn some racing with – manual shift, closed-cockpit and of course front-wheel drive. They are full-blown race cars used for racing, with roll cages, 5-point harnesses, and all of the things needed to make them safe and competitive in a racing environment.

Pair those cars with Allen Berg’s purebred open-wheel formula racing cars, and you’ve got a well-rounded racing experience.

PWCF.org Walk Events Around the Corner!

Thursday, March 21st, 2013

Every year, the Prader-Willi California Foundation raises funds and awareness for Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) with “Walk” events in Northern, Central, and Southern California. You can donate, be a virtual walker, or go to the event closest to you and participate. It’s a great way to learn more!
PWCF.org
The Prader-Willi California Foundation recently launched its new PWCF.org site which is filled with wonderful information for Parents of children with PWS, for family, and for Professionals that work with the syndrome. There’s information for researchers on the site, links to activities and even a store in which to buy PWS-related merchandise.

Congratulations on the new PWCF.org, and at WSmad, we all hope this year’s walk event is a huge success!

Burnsoo Song at GARBOUSHIAN GALLERY

Thursday, March 21st, 2013

At a time when American-North Korean tensions are high, Korean-born Burnsoo Song’s take on the “fine line between” is a stark reminder of how perceptions can break tranquility. Lauded in Korea, China, and the world over, Song’s beautiful, colorful work often includes rose thorn and other natural elements.
Burnsoo Song at GARBOUSHIAN GALLERY
Burnsoo Song’s work is on exhibit at GARBOUSHIAN GALLERY in Beverly Hills from March 16th.

CoinSniper.com Gears Up for Another Year of Selling Great Collector Coins!

Thursday, January 10th, 2013

CoinSniper is still going. A lot of people said it couldn’t happen, but thanks to the hard work of CoinSniper.com’s proprietor and a lot of help, along with some fantastic customers, CoinSniper is ready to give 2013 a go!

CoinSniper.com - numismatic penny or pay-per-bid auction

CoinSniper.com is a “penny auction” or “pay-per-bid” auction site selling numismatic (collectible) coins. It’s a fun new way for collectors to grow and improve their collections.

There are some great coin dealers out there, there are some not-so-great ones. Rusty’s CoinSniper is, in our opinion, one of the great ones. There are some great penny auctions out there, and there are definitely a lot of not-so-great ones. We don’t get ourselves involved in scams – we’ve seen the whole thing and it’s legit. And we’re not alone industry watchdogs – Penny Auction Watch and Penny Auction List both have seen, experienced, and monitored closely the goings on at CoinSniper, and they wholeheartedly approve.

Congrats Rusty on getting a great concept off the ground! We know you have a lot of great things in store – here’s to a great 2013 for you!

GARBOUSHIAN GALLERY presents Curtis Weaver’s ECO – LIBIDO

Wednesday, January 9th, 2013

Beautiful, sensual, engaging, and titillating. That’s what Curtis Weaver’s painting and sculpture brings to life for the modern art connoisseur. GARBOUSHIAN GALLERY is proud to present Weaver’s work in ECO – LIBIDO, beginning January 19th and running through February in their Beverly Hills studio.

Curtis Weaver at GARBOUSHIAN GALLERY

This is an interesting exhibition that mixes media for a more involving experience. Fantastical creatures present whimsy and sexuality in a provocative manner – not controversially provocative, but biologically provocative.

Head to the Beverly Wilshire triangle and find the GARBOUSHIAN GALLERY, the home of the best up-and-coming artists in Los Angeles. After the success of the recent John Seery and Miguel Osuna shows, Curtis Weaver is a pleasant change of pace that showcases excellent taste and a versatile pallet for art. Until February, you’ll see Curtis Weaver’s ECO – Libido there, in all its sumptuous glory.

The 39th Annual Summer Pro League Concludes with Epic Double-Overtime Championship Game

Wednesday, August 1st, 2012

Well folks, that’s that! If you want to play in the NBA, Summer Pro League gave you a chance – and a couple of players look like they’re headed for the Pros.
39th Annual Summer Pro League presented by AND1 concludes
On Monday, July 30th, the 39th Annual Southern California Summer Pro League presented by AND1 wrapped with an epic game between presenting Sponsor’s AND1 Select team and LA Loop. Both teams had exceptional records in League play, each going into the Championship game undefeated in six games. One of those teams was destined to finish the season 7-0, while the other would go home 6-1.

Play throughout the league games was at an extremely high, NBA level. Rising above the rest, AND1 Select and LA Loop aimed to set themselves apart so that agents and scouts would take notice and sign the players for their chance at stardom.

In an epic double over-time knock-down drag-out thrash, AND1 Select managed the win over LA Loop. AND1’s Franklin Session was matched by LA Loop’s Vince Camper for 27 points on the night. AND1’s Tremayne Johnson picked up a double double with 23 points and 13 rebounds while LA Loop had three players in double-digits for the night: Camper backed his shooting with 12 assists, Mark Dawson lit up the hoop with 18 points and crashed the boards for a game leading 21 rebounds, and Keith Davis hitting for 11 points and 11 rebounds.

In the end, AND1 won with 91 points versus LA Loop’s 86. All of the players deserve a second look from the Big Leagues, but a few used $150 and Summer Pro League to make a statement, “PICK ME, COACH. I have what it takes to get it done!”

And they certainly proved it.

Congratulations to all the players and coaches on an excellent season, and to the SPL Support Staff for making opportunities happen for serious players.

GARBOUSHIAN GALLERY presents Max Presneill’s THE LIMINAL EGYPTIAN: tall tales of fact & fiction

Thursday, June 28th, 2012

Celebrated artist Max Presneill brings his third exhibition to GARBOUSHIAN GALLERY beginning Friday, June 29th, 2012. With painting that is as beautifully colorful as it is elegantly thought provoking, Presneill’s work sum all that is great modern art.
Max Presneill's <i>The Raft (Sphinx)</i>, on display at GARBOUSHIAN through July
Come see this fantastic body of work at GARBOUSHIAN GALLERY in Beverly Hills throughout July 2012.

CoinSniper.com Numismatic “Penny Auction” Live

Wednesday, June 27th, 2012

It’s a penny Penny Auction live on the Internet.
CoinSniper.com is the first numismatic Penny Auction on the Internet
Right now, there’s a few ways for Coin Collectors (Numismatists) to buy coins. They can go to a coin show and meet their favorite dealers live, they can go to the ever-disappearing local coin shop and pick up what they’re craving, or they can buy coins on-line, through dealer web sites or through on-line numismatic auctions.

The margins are tight for dealers and the market is well-saturated for collectors, so the chances of getting a coin for less than “book” value is slim or none.

Rusty Scropper, proprietor of CoinSniper.com, had the idea to apply the “Penny Auction format” to numismatics to a) make it more fun for collectors and b) allow them to potentially buy coins for less than their normal value with a mix of skill and luck.

Here’s how it works (and you can read about it on the CoinSniper.com site here or watch a video about it here):

Coin buyers buy packs of bids. The bids cost about $1.00 each. When they see a coin they want, they place a bid on it. This increases the cost of the coin $0.01 and adds 10 seconds to the clock to allow any other “CoinSnipers” an opportunity to out-bid. When time runs off the clock, the winner gets the coin shipped to their address for free.

Rusty explains how he came upon the idea: “When I got tired of waiting for the big show to come my way and found all the dealers I like closing up shop, I turned to the Internet, to eBay. I found I had a great time buying coins by ‘sniping’ the auction. I’d put a bid in at the last second and hope it was enough to get the coin I couldn’t live without. With the penny auction format, that whole experience is condensed and magnified.”

Unfortunately, there are some bad players in the penny auction business. “I have no interest in running anything but a completely legitimate, honest business.”

And if you read Scropper’s articles in the CoinSniper.com Numismatic Learning Center, you’ll see he has a lot of experience and great advice he’s willing to freely share with both the experienced and inexperienced numismatist alike.

“Theoretically, this whole thing should be cheap for buyers and over time, I should be able to eek out a small profit.”, says Scropper. “The trick for the buyers is to make sure they win once in a while using a bit of patience. If you watch your competition carefully, you can figure out when to put your bid in. The whole process is a lot more fun.”

The first auctions are set to end on July 4th, 2012, with four coins per day selling until demand requires more. On July 4th alone, there’s well over $100 up for grabs, and since all of the users are new, there’s a good chance that they could win the coins with their free first 25 bids.

We wish Rusty the best of luck with his new venture and the bidders the best of luck winning some great coins. Congrats on your new site, Rusty! It was a lot of work, but we’re all sure it’s going to pay off.

The Modern Sculpture of Emily Counts at GARBOUSHIAN GALLERY Starting May 12th

Monday, May 7th, 2012

Emily Counts’ Past Present Future: Connect is a display of recent and innovative modern sculpture that reflects on our relationship with technology in our daily lives while recalling our expectations of it from our past. It is the latest exhibition on display at GARBOUSHIAN GALLERY.
Emily Counts modern art sculpture at Garbhoushian gallery in Los Angeles May through June of 2012
Each piece seems to be an exploration of our love-hate relationship giving us a sense of what our expectations have yielded in reality and comparing our reality to our past expectations of the term ‘modern’ with relation to technology.

Past Present Future: Connect is on display from May 12th to June 16th at GARBOUSHIAN GALLERY in Beverly Wilshire.

Allen Berg Racing Schools Provide Formula Car Experience in Southern California

Tuesday, May 1st, 2012

There is great news for Formula Car racers and enthusiasts in Southern California. Allen Berg, ex-Formula One pilot, has brought advanced formula car training straight to Los Angeles at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana.Allen Berg Formula One Racing School in Los Angeles

Before, Los Angelenos had to go to Infineon Raceway or Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca to take part in an advanced racing course. Now Allen Berg offers an even higher quality of training through Allen Berg Racing Schools right here in LA, plus some perks.

To start, Allen’s cars are purpose built race cars, just as any other school’s. But far better yet, they’re all outfitted with full data telemetry and cameras. This means instead of depending on a students limited understanding, every issue of time lost can be seen objectively in black and white for immediate feedback. There is no greater tool for improvement. Couple the best technical data available for your driving with expert instruction from an ex-F1 driver, and you’ll be shaving chunks off your time.

This kind if experience can and does translate to any and every kind of competitive tarmac driving, from racing historic and semi-historic Grand Prix, Indy, and F5000 and Formula Vee cars to non-formula FIA, GTP, Can-Am, and even race-prepped street cars for autocross and rally.

Even better, Allen allows graduates of his programs to inexpensively rent time in his cars at the track to continue improving. It makes for a fantastic pre-season refresher, and you get the same data and analysis as you do during school.

We welcome Allen and his racing school to Los Angeles! What a fantastic addition to the racing regimen for competitive drivers and those seeking more safety through competence.