New-to-me zine about the city I’m calling home these days. Some of it comes off as “you should’ve been there…” jokes that I showed up about five minutes late for. Jokes about anything “entertainment,” while very LA, go nowhere with me. What can I say? I don’t have cable and I don’t really know who Hillary Duff is. Big points to covering the Orphans and LA’s most over-looked and interesting landmarks—The Watts Towers. They’re incredible. Simon Rodia emigrated from Italy, worked as a cement mason, drank, went crazy, moved to Watts, sobered up, and started building. The towers stand ninety-nine feet tall at the highest point. He sculpted them with no scaffolding, welding, bolts, or plans. It is the largest single work of art made by one man. Not only are the towers themselves amazing, but the history around it is equally fascinating. Watts had been a racially mixed neighborhood until after the first World War. During WW II, Japanese citizens were sent off to internment camps and their homes were sold as low income housing for the growing defense industry, which drew an even larger black population to the area. Once the war was over, defense jobs vanished and unemployment rose drastically in the area, leaving a struggling black ghetto. During the racially spurred Watts riots, while most of the city was in flames, neighbors gathered around the towers to protect them. The community saw past racial boundaries to salvage not homes, nor businesses, but art. You just might understand why if you get the chance to see it. Back to the zine, though. I wish they had gone more in depth on the Watts Towers, and the Orphans interview comes off as a “What should I ask you?” “I don’t know, what do you want to ask me?” kind of thing. I was hoping to read about the little hole-in-the-wall places I know are out there, or to find out more about the places I walk by every day. I was kind of let down, but hey, for free I know I’ll pick it up again. –Megan (Fran Magazine, 511 N. Kenmore Ave, Suite #103, LA, CA 90004)