A Taste of Dawn

LACMA Sam Doyle: The Mind’s Eye

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Sam Doyle was born in 1906 on Saint Helena Island, South Carolina, the center of the region’s Gullah community, where African influences thrived. He began making paintings on cast-off sheet metal and wood panels in 1944; most were portraits of people and events important to his community. He displayed the paintings to the public in the yard of his clapboard house.

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Thomas Hill Organics

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The very first time I came to Paso, I met Chef Ryan Sims. I was here to meet a winemaker and she took me out to one of her favorite local restaurants, Thomas Hill Organics. At the time, Ryan was an apprentice and Sous Chef, and as luck would have it that was the one time I was able to meet owner, Debbie Thomas. This time around however, Chef Ryan is the Executive Chef and the food he creates? Sheer brilliance. From the complexity to the candor of local ingredients, every single dish is a tasty art piece worthy of pause. Crafted with the local produce in mind, tonight’s dinner was nothing short of spectacular, and Chef? The best thing to happen to the region in my opinion.

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Zoetic by Chef Corinne Rice

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Corrine Rice can be described as sheer passion, purity, complexity by way of beautiful understated luxury, and passion. Her cuisine is the kind of fare that supports everything I believe in: Quality, sustainable, local, farm to table, and my all time necessaire: gluten-free. When invited to partake of this evenings’ popup, I was genuinely thrilled. Chef Rice is not the egocentric chef. She is the epitome of culinary love and it shows in every dish.

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French Stewart as BUSTER KEATON!

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“I mean, I never thought I’d have all of this. Look at me! I’m 50, married to this incredible woman [pointing to Vanessa], have a beautiful little girl, work for Chuck Lorre during the day [MOM on CBS], and at night, I get to do this with all of my friends playing a character of a man I’ve admired all of my life. I’m living the dream!”

– French Stewart

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First Annual Bite at the Beach

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Beyond the studio’s guard post, at which a cluster of security officers are checking driver license’ and writing down names, sits a long, lonely road–one which must be traveled by foot— manned on both sides by volunteers sporting white shirts with “Bite at the Beach” emblazoned across the chest in bold blue and orange hues. One of said volunteers catches my eye, points to a white tent further down, and answers before I can ask: “The party’s thataway!”

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Maya Angelou

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Letter From The Editor: You see, we live in a world that is chaotic and full of hate but then we are given a beacon of light. A human being who does not accept our willful attempts at hate. A human being who looks deeper into humanity and simply watches it behave in order to understand who it truly has become. Mind you, not who it is but rather who it has allowed itself to become. She epitomized the idea that conditioning ones soul to respond in anger or hate is mere choice by which we can make a change. She believed inexhaustibly that life was hope. That dreaming was essential. That caging a free bird was the detriment of ones soul. This woman declared that regardless of what change happens “to her”, it would never reduce her worth, her value, diminish the core of who she was. That woman – that human being – is Maya Angelou.

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An Unconventional Letter From Mom

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The story goes that once upon a time, I swallowed a bean. It was a magical bean and it was a bean only your daddy and I would know about. It was made especially for us. We had searched high and low for the bean we “thought” was ours but turns out the seedling was with us all along. (Seems grown-ups are a little “slow on the draw” sometimes.

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“The One I Love” Film Review

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If you could be with the ideal version of your partner would you be happier? Is embracing them for their flaws part of the accepted insanity that is love? The One I Love aims to answer that by reinventing a familiar premise with excellent performances and a quirky, clever script fusing relatable human drama with science fiction.

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“Who Took Johnny” Film Review

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“Who Took Johnny”: What sounds like the beginning of a nail-biting Hollywood thriller is a sad and disturbing reality—one that American parents face each and every day and is the main focus of documentary Who Took Johnny, a dissection of the stranger-than-fiction disappearance of Iowa paperboy, Johnny Gosch, a boy who seemingly “vanished into thin air” and a case that still remains unsolved.

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Austin Heats Up in the LiveFire Challenge

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Last year was the 1st year ATOD Magazine™ attended the LiveFire! Challenge and we were honored to be invited back. This year, our Editor sent in our brilliant Austin #Photojournalist, Kevin Curtis to give readers a visual taste of everything that gets cooked up at the illustrious Salt Lick BBQ (an Austin MUST). We are thrilled to tempt you with the culinary spectrum showcased at this year’s LiveFire! Challenge.

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La Cosecha Paso Robles

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On site is La Cosecha Owner, Carole MacDonal – wife to Executive Chef + Restaurateur Santos MacDonal (acclaimed for his culinary mastery at many of Los Angeles’ finest restaurants). Carole is, much like her yellow tunic suggests, bright and full of sunshine. Her demeanor is calm and friendly and it’s clear she’s no stranger to media (a Hollywood Producer of some of the biggest shows on television). She explains that there are a few must-try items…

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Feeling Ravenous

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In the heart of Downtown, an evening of live music, art, cocktails, food, and a crowd abundant in sophistication gathered. Celebrating the 1st official party of the year for the Magazine, I had the pleasure of curating my first official space. Working with brothers, Drew and Cory Jacobsen of Ebanos Crossing in the heart of DTLA, we began to plan an event that would allow me to feature art, bring in a phenomenal band, work with the best tequila brand around, offer tasty bites, and encourage every guests to tap into all of their senses.

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Los Angeles – the Cultural Playground

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Have you ever really dove head first into the City of Angels? I don’t mean the cool obscure clubs or the sophisticated plethora of gatherings. I mean just gone off, explored, walked into a gallery, Museum, restaurant, wine bar, clothing store, oddity find, or simply plodded along, pulled up a chair in the middle of a crowded spot and just people watched? Well then, then this is your invitation to do precisely that.

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Bill Phelps – NY Photographer

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Through his lens, there is a trust that occurs between him and his subjects that allows him access to their innermost self. Carefully and thoughtfully, Bill is able to capture that through his lens in a way that lends to a profoundly real understanding of human nature. He finds the beauty, the fear, the solitude, the playfulness, the fierceness, the joy, the passion, the spirit, and the honesty of every subject. Below is a look at the truly remarkable work Bill Phelps has produced.

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Supperclub + Wine Tasting

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On August 2nd and 3rd, ATOD Magazine™ partnered with Los Angeles’ premier venue and nightclub, Supperclub in Hollywood to do a dinner + wine tasting with D’Alfonso Curran Winery. Wines created by Bruno D’Alfonso and Kris Curran, the lineup of wines expands well into any palate with a passion and love that can appeal to just about anyone. Below is a video of how the evening went. Thanks to Supperclub, the 4-Course dinner pairing was sublime.

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Coast Modern, Architecture For The Soul

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Is life composed of hard edges, or soft curves? In this elliptical documentary on the architectural wonderment of modernism and its steadfast metamorphosis over the last eighty-plus years, filmmakers Mike Bernard and Gavin Froome travel the Pacific Northwest in an effort to capture the essence of a spirituality we won’t find at the local synagogue or mosque, but in the very bones of our own homes. Coast Modern tries to establish not so much a style of living, but a way of life in its up-close-and-personal investigation of a series of homes and establishments belonging to the few who’ve decided to forgo the privacy and security of the enclosed enclaves most of us probably find ourselves in.

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