2013 Rotator Archive Stories

The undisputed hit at last year's Off Center Festival was "The Car Plays." The lucky few who could snag tickets lined up in pairs to see short scenes performed in cars parked on the Arts Plaza beside Costa Mesa's Segerstrom Hall. Most seemed to agree that there's nothing like witnessing sex, death, love, hate and screaming arguments, the juicy g

Day at the Pool, a documentary short that covers the true origins of modern skateboarding, was released on DVD and iTunes on January 25. The short challenges the film

The internationally-acclaimed Belarus Free Theatre’s Minsk, 2011: A Reply to Kathy Acker, came to Segerstrom Center for the Arts' Founders Hall January 24-26. The play is set in Belarus, Europe’s last dictatorship and is performed in Russian with English subtitles projected on a screen behind the performers. Exploring

NEWPORT BEACH – The waves were perfect, the sun was firing, and the community came out to the sand at 54th Street to support the Newport Harbor High School Surf Classic, which raised about $7,500 for the school's surf team. The contest drew surfers from elementary-school age to masters 40 and older to compete in an event that over1

2013 BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells, Calif. was in full swing this past weekend. Almost ideal conditions and full stadiums cheered the world's best tennis players.Day matches on Stadium Court ranged from excellent to ugly.On the good side for the men's draw, defending champion and No. 2 in the world&nb

Early Sunday morning, 87 applicants arrived for the Huntington Beach Marine Safety Division and Ocean Lifeguard tryouts. They were physically challenged on a three-part test in 55-degree water with choppy waves and on the sand. "Today is a perfect day for tryouts," said Huntington Beach Marine Safety Training Officer Michael Eich

Apparently, there is an unwritten law in Hollywood that every new generation must have its own version of “The Great Gatsby.” This generation gets its own “Gatsby” this weekend when Australian filmmaker Baz Luhrmann (“Moulin Rouge!”) unveils his lavish 3D productio

Orange County was flat: as in 0 to 1 foot for a week, making most of us a little edgy. But was a very small bump Sunday of 1 to 2 feet worth the freezing 51 degrees to get wet? Some of the guys said no way as they parking lot surfed, looking at the waves and talking to those who did brave the cold water. Some did make the paddle out

Her fifth album, Girl on Fire, dropped just before Thanksgiving, so it was only a matter of weeks before Alicia Keys would reveal North American dates to promote it. As it is, hers is one of the first major outings to be announced in 2013 — at least that's headed our way. Keys, who turns 32 this month, is launching her Set t

From left: Matt Skiba, Derek Grant and Dan Andriano. Photo courtesy of Epitaph Records. Alkaline Trio lyr

It seems the word is out that surf conditions have been epic the past two days in the early morning hours, because this morning was four times the crowd than yesterday. And the surf did not disappoint as it was just as good today as yesterday morning. Once again with sheet glass head-high to overhead waves, the early morning crew plus the many f

The second stop of the Arnette Cash Pot Surf Series went down Sunday, March 3rd at Blackies in Newport Beach. The surfers made the most of the 1-2 foot conditions and the competition in the water was fierce with high scores and big turns from the groms and pros. The 16 and Under division final was the heat of the day with Griffin Foy j

Two baby gray whales were spotted this week by a charter boat in Dana Point, an unusually early debut for calves that are more commonly born in warmer waters in Baja. The season's first sighting, about a mile and a half off shore in Dana Point on Sunday, was a 10-foot-long calf making its way south with its mother, according to a natural

Crystal Dedes ran straight for the chilly waters and dunked under the sparkling waves to cool off, wearing just a bikini. "Come in!" she yelled out to her three friends, who followed and screamed out as the water numbed them. "We were playing volleyball, and we got pretty hot and sweaty – we were like 'we're going to go and

A pro surf contest that has drawn the world's best surfers to Lower Trestles for 24 straight years has been canceled this year for lack of sponsorship, organizers announced Tuesday. The Lowers Pro, an ASP Prime event scheduled to run April 30 through May 4 on the cobblestone reef a mile south of San Clemente will not happen this year aft

Black Sabbath confirms a 20-city North American tour. Photo by Tim Whitby, Getty Images What initially looke

The largest mammal on Earth made an unusually early appearance off the Orange County coast Sunday, surprising and delighting whale-watching experts who have never seen it here this early. Usually, the blue whale is spotted when it's warmer, closer to May. But Dana Wharf Sportsfishing and Whale Watching reported seeing two blue whales thr

The 2013 BNP Paribas Open concluded March 16-17 with the tournament's best tennis in front of wildly cheering at-capacity crowds.The men's final featured a battle between Rafael Nadal (Spain #5) and Juan Martin del Potro (Argentina #7). Nadal earned a spot in the finals by defeating Roger Federer (Switzerland #2) and Thomas Berdych (

Bob Hurley wrestled with the biggest decision of his career. Should he continue his role as the North America licensee for Billabong, a company he and partners brought to the U.S. and grew into a $100 million business? Or should he start from scratch to bring something fresh to the surf industry – with the fate of more than

When Ron Abdel, co-owner of Jack's Surfboards, tried to put on a promotion with Quiksilver during last year's US Open of Surfing, reps from then-sponsor Nike quickly came over and shut down the operation. "They were very strict about it," Abdel said of the free hat with purchase giveaway at the store at Main Street and Pacific Coast High

Back in 2007, Tim Lukei and his friends would glide along the calm waters in Newport Beach on stand-up paddleboards and passersby would bombard them with questions. “Is that hard? How do you do that? Do you give lessons?” It wasn't hard. To show them, Lukei, of Irvine, would let people give it a try, sometimes making $10 off

The Mumfords salute Springsteen at the MusiCares Person of the Year gala. Photo: Getty Images As

"Forty forever … last year, next year, this year …" That was just about all anyone could audibly understand from Chan Marshall, the musician known as Cat Power, among her intermittent mumblings during Tuesday night's performance at Santa Ana's Observatory. Marshall was commentating on the fact that a day earlier she

Today is one of the reasons we live here in Southern California, where you can surf and hit the snow all in the same day and if you are a full throttle type of person, you could also take out the dirt bike too! I made the choice to hit Newport with World Ranked #20 Travis Logie from South Africa who now calls California home. Logie has been hitt

Got a taste for the finer things in life? Then mark your calendars for April 13th when the producers of the OC Brew Ha Ha present Gray Cloud, a premier cigar and craft beer pairing festival at Mission Viejo’s Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club. Touted as an extraordinarily personal and intimate pairing experience, this event will