Ageism exists everywhere, even in cyberspace. The other day, I copied my best friend, Liza, in on a work email and used her AOL address by mistake. She called me immediately.
“Please don’t use my AOL email!” It was as though I’d revealed her birthday. She probably would have preferred I revealed her birthday because @aol.com ages her up.
There’s an unspoken form of ageism. It’s called AOLism.
She’s not the first person to tell me that using an AOL address is uncool. Another friend has been saying for years that using an AOL email shows how out of touch I am. As though being out of touch was something to be ashamed of.
“Do you really want that to be your calling card?” she asked. She’s highly image-conscious and believes using an AOL email reveals a lack of branding savvy. I pointed out all the cool women I know who use AOL but I was told that they didn’t count because they were already rich or famous or successful enough not to care.
I guess if you’re looking for work, an AOL email says: if you hire me, I won’t know how to open a Google doc.
Sure enough, I asked someone who’s in a position of hiring at a company what he thinks when he sees an AOL email address. He said: “I think that person is digitally challenged and lazy and couldn’t be bothered to switch to gmail.”
For those of us who haven’t moved on from AOL, I suppose the question is: why do we still keep it? Maybe because being an agitator is fun. Or maybe because it reminds us of the 90s — when email was fresh and new, dial-up seemed cutting edge and branding was used on companies, not people.
Or maybe it’s because we’re 2 legit 2 quit.
Here are five things to do this weekend where nobody’s clocking how old you are:
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Go See
King Pleasure: Jean Michel Basquiat
This expansive Jean-Michel Basquiat exhibit showcases never-before-seen work — over 200 pieces — that was held privately by his family. Curated by his sisters and those who knew him best, it tells the story of how Basquiat lived. It’s comprehensive and yet, he still seems like an enigma.
The exhibit immerses you in how prolific he was as an artist. It’s intimate and incredibly detailed. There are maps showing where he spent his time in New York and L.A. — recreations of the loft he lived in on Great Jones street with Sixteen Candles on a loop on the TV set, cartons of Marlboro reds and VHS movies on the shelf – also his childhood dining room in Brooklyn with a rotary phone on the wall and hanging plants. There’s a lot of ephemera. Notebooks with handwritten messages to himself and artifacts that he collected. There are videos of interviews with his sisters, friends, and people he worked with. The art is divided up into four different “chambers” and you move from one to the next in a chronological order – all of it intersecting his artistic endeavors with his personal life, his influences, and the 1980’s, it gives you a feeling of his energy and going back in time – as well as an appreciation for the legacy he left behind.
Almost as crowded at the exhibit was the Jean Michel Basquiat King Pleasure Emporium next door. Filled with merchandise, you can purchase a Basquiat King Pleasure skateboard deck for $220, a Basquiat T shirt for $80 or a $60 Basquiat candle. Whatever helps you feel connected.
When: Through July 31st
Location: The Grand LA | 100 S Grand Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90012
Hours: Open daily except Tuesdays.
Parking: Parking is available at The Grand in the lower-level parking garage. Self-parking with validation is available for $4.50 for three hours. After the three-hour self-validation, rates increase to $4.25 for each additional 15 minutes to a max of $42.00. The entrance to self-parking is located between W. 2nd Street and W. 1st Street on S. Olive Street
Wander Around
Housed in an enormous former American Apparel manufacturing facility, the ROW DTLA is a massive industrial development with restaurants, shops, bars, and events spaces but it’s kind of hard to figure out what it is. Maybe a hipper, pared-down version of The Grove without the piped in music and Disneyesque fountains? I met my friend at Pizza Bianco and we sat outside. It reminded me of being on The High Line in NYC – except without the view of the water. For a Sunday afternoon, it was enjoyably free of crowds. Someone said it’s a place for destination diners and shoppers. What I found most impressive was the parking lot which was vast, easy, and there’s a rooftop garden on top. Yes, a garden on top of the parking lot. Is there such a thing as destination parking?
When: 10 AM – 10 PM Daily
Location: 777 S Alameda St., Los Angeles CA 90021
Parking: Free!
Get Out
The Westridge trail in Brentwood is a hike that reminds you why you live in LA. The path is wide enough for you to be with a group and it’s as popular with dogs as it is with humans. There’s also room for mountain bikes and there are steeper paths that go up the hills if walking on flat fire trails isn’t rigorous enough. It’s a great place to hike with that friend who likes to walk-n-talk because you’re not really at risk of falling off the mountain if you trip. Something I’d be likely to do.
Hours: 6 AM to 8 PM
Location: W Mandeville Fire Rd, Los Angeles, CA 90049
Parking: Nearby street parking.
Directions: From the San Fernando Valley, the park is accessible from San Vicente Mountain Park. From the 405 freeway, take Mulholland Drive west 2.7 miles. A ten minute walk on a fire road will bring you to the trail and Park entrance.
From West Los Angeles: From Sunset Blvd. take Mandeville Canyon Road north to Westridge Road. Turn left. Take Westridge Road to its terminus.
Take A Tour
Warner Bros. Studio Classics Tour
Sometimes it’s fun to do touristy things when you’re not a tourist. While other studios, such as Disneyland and Universal, have theme parks, Warner Bros. has a studio tour that takes you behind the scenes and shows you how a film is made. You’ll see a few of the 36 sound stages, the backlot, learn about costumes, props, and special effects. A friend did it with her kids and loved it. After spending 3 hours on the tour (or 5 if you want the deluxe tour, which includes lunch at the commissary and a visit to a screening room), she said you’ll walk away feeling as if you’ve been to film school without spending money on tuition. You can experience the “Golden Age of Hollywood” – you know, before movies were based on video games.
Email: studio.tour@warnerbros.com | Phone: +1 (818)-977-8687
Location: Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood | 3400 Warner Blvd., Burbank, CA 91505
Parking: 3400 Warner Blvd., Burbank, CA 91505 | Follow signs for Tour Parking on the Southside of Warner Blvd.
Parking Fee: $15 per vehicle
Go To
This weekend is the Center Theatre Group’s 2023 Gala “Light Up Los Angeles” spring fundraiser. The Center Theatre Group is Los Angeles’ leading nonprofit theatre company which programs the Mark Taper Forum, the Ahmanson Theatre and the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City. Honorary co-chairs of the event include Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance, Anna Camp, Adam Rothenberg and Cecily Strong – the live show will feature Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Rachel Bloom, Culture Clash and others, and there’s an after party with DJ’s and dancing, if you like that sort of thing. You can support the theatre and celebrate something on April 15th other than getting your taxes done.
When: April 15, 2023.