Justin Sedgwick

Who wouldn’t love to shoot webs from the top of New York skyscrapers, or run faster than the speed of light in Central City? While Spider Man and the Flash may be treasured heroes back in their home cities, if they ever relocated west, they'd find these superpowers to be much more helpful in defeating the City of Angels’ most abominable villains. The power to know if you should stay on the 405 or get off at Sepulveda Even with Waze and Google Maps giving up-to-the-second updates on our grueling traffic endeavors, it is still a gamble when deciding whether you should get off the 405 at Sunset and take Sepulveda to Sherman Oaks, or travel even slower than the Getty Center Monorail in bumper-to-bumper 405 traffic. This superpower would give you the ability to see a full five minutes into the future and calculate every traffic decision and its potential outcome, allowing you 10 more minutes each day to fight villains (or watch Family Guy on Netflix, it’s your choice). The power to know when there will be no line at Daikokuya  No more having to wait an hour and then sadly conceding to go to one of the perfectly good but not quite as special Japanese food joints in Los Angeles. With this superpower, your Ramen sense would kick into full gear exactly 45 minutes before there will be no line at the Little Tokyo staple so you can get a table and your bowl immediately after arriving. The power to get a bartender’s attention at Clifton’s Perhaps you cut them off in traffic on the 10. Ma

No traffic, plenty of open parking and easy access to some of the city’s best Chinese restaurants without having to wait in line. Yeah, we don’t blame you for wanting to stay in Los Angeles over the holidays. But even though you know just how sweet of a treat it is to visit your favorite bars and restaurants without any crowds or be able to get from Pasadena to Santa Monica in less than 20 minutes, your family may not be so understanding when you aren’t there to open presents on Christmas day or light the Menorah. If you want to stay in Los Angeles for the holidays but don’t want to upset your family, here are some crafty excuses that’ll save you a trip to LAX.  1. "I got cast as an extra in a Judd Apatow movie. It’s a sequel called Knocked Down, and my role just happens to film exactly from December 25 to January 1. I’ll tell Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd you said 'hi' though!" 2. "My yoga instructor tore her ACL and she needs me to substitute—I'm her prized pupil after all.” 3. "I got into a fender bender on the 405 and missed my flight." 4. "The pet hotel in West Hollywood lost my reservation and I have nobody to watch Mrs. Peanut Butter!"   5. "I finally got tickets to the 'Infinity Mirror Room' at the Broad, and, you know, priorities."  6.  "I got a new job and they want me to start tomorrow... I know, weird timing right?"  7. "The Calexit committee is holding a meeting on Christmas Eve and I just can't miss it." 8.  "Awards season traffic is blocking my driveway in Beverly H

Countless Angelenos drive for ride-sharing companies as their primary or supplementary source of income. But take enough Uber and Lyft rides in L.A. and you’ll discover there are 15 types of drivers navigating our sun-glistened city streets, all of whom you're definitely going to ride with if you're using a ride-sharing app.  1. The driver who invites you to his band’s gig after your ride. Who knows if they’ll end up becoming the next Lindsey Buckingham or John Mayer, what’s important now is that we pay $5 to watch this driver’s band play Fleetwood Mac covers in NoHo on Tuesday night.  2. The driver who clearly smoked a cigarette in their car a few minutes before picking you up. We’re in the Valley, they couldn’t pull over to an empty parking lot to do this?  3. The driver who has lived in a trendy neighborhood in L.A. for decades and complains about it becoming too gentrified. "It’s just all a bunch of yuppies and chain stores moving into Venice/Echo Park/Eagle Rock," complains this driver. "Ten years ago you could get a one bedroom here for $50 a month, now it's impossible to find a studio for less than $3,000 a week." And yet they’re driving a Benz while drinking a caramel Frappuccino. Hmm. 4. The Santa Monica driver who doesn’t go anywhere east of the 405. They’ll speed down Pico to get you to Ocean Boulevard in under five minutes, and can even hook you up with entry into the Bungalow without having to wait in line, but this Santa Monica bubble dweller will be damned if y

Los Angeles may be the creative capital of the country, but residents could still use some new terms and phrases to describe the unique problems, situations and experiences that only happen in the City of Angels. 1. Honda burger: When there are no available tables at In-N-Out and you have to eat your Double-Double in your car.  2. Bike-screwed: When you finally think you found a parking spot but then see a motorcycle hiding behind the large SUV next to it. 3. Frettying: When you're hurrying to the Getty early on a Saturday morning to beat the tourists. 4. Fairfax dollar: When you’re trying to spend $1 or less to get your parking validated at the Original Farmers Market. 5. Stacked talk: The 5-10 minute polite conversation you have with your parking neighbor when you’re both stuck waiting for the car in front of you to leave at the Hollywood Bowl. 6. Echo Parking: The reason why you’re 30 minutes late to meet up with friends at the Echo: you’re still looking for a spot for your car. 7. Bungahigh: The elated feeling you get when you only have to wait 15 minutes to get into the Bungalow in Santa Monica. 8. Fast pass supreme: When you invite your friend who recently broke their arm or leg to Disneyland so you can get on all the rides more quickly. 9. Line bro: The new friendship you make with a person waiting in line at [insert any popular LA club or restaurant here]. 10. Memory barred: When you literally knew the password for R Bar just a second ago but you forgot right when the

The wonderful thing about Los Angeles is that there is always a new part of town to explore. Drive in any direction and you’re bound to cross into a bustling, diverse neighborhood full of restaurants, shops and sights you never could've imagined existed just 30 minutes from your dingbat apartment. But even if you consider yourself a master explorer of LA’s lesser-known neighborhood treasures, you’ll probably have difficult picking out which of these LA neighborhoods are real and which are fake. Southwest Covina You might know of Covina, and if you live in it or watch Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, you definitely know West Covina. But did you know just a nudge south of these San Gabriel Valley cities is the smaller but energetic Southwest Covina? With a population of just over 15,000, Southwest Covina organized into their own neighborhood in the latter half of the 20th century during West Covina’s expansion. They have one elementary and one high school, and even their own small but dedicated city council, mostly filled with concerned, politically-active neighbors, who, on average, are in their 50s. The city still shares most of their municipal services with Covina and West Covina, although Southwest Covina's manufacturing industry has served as a trusted place to find steady work in the region.  REAL OR FAKE?: Southwest Covina sadly does not exist (yet!). For now, you’ll have to stick to regular West Covina for your pretzel and Rachel Bloom fix. Little India Hundreds of LA locals dine a

Bumper-to-bumper gridlock on the freeways, hour-long lines to get into crowded clubs, and rent prices that cost an arm and a Soul Cycled-leg are just the ways of life in LA. While living here brings unmatched entertainment and lifestyle, there are certain LA annoyances so irritating and obnoxious that they should be a crime, where only swift SoCal-style justice will do. Here's our list.  1. Cheating at bar trivia at the Original Farmers' Market It doesn’t matter if you totally know that Josh and his team cheat every week. It doesn’t matter if the trivia winnings will pay your bar tab at Surly Goat that weekend. If you don’t know the answer, you don’t know it.  Punishment: One year of having to use mini golf-sized pencils with no visible lead tip while playing trivia. And no involvement in bonus round whatsoever. 2. Cursing in front of children at Disneyland, Universal Studios and other theme parks Kids and families are the primary visitors, and you don’t want to be that person who gets death stares from parents while waiting in line for Butterbeer at Harry Potter World because you can't sensor yourself.  Punishment: Sentenced to waiting in line at Splash Mountain for two hours, only for it to break down when your log finally approaches. 3. Taking too many selfies/video at a concert Yes, seeing Axl Rose and Slash do a surprise set at the Troubadour is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Yes, it’s perfectly acceptable to capture one or two images and a brief video of you drunkenly

Los Angeles is home to some of the finest Mexican food establishments on the planet, but sometimes even the most critically-acclaimed and highest-rated taquerias and taco trucks can't match up to the simplicity and elegance of a well-crafted Chipotle burrito. Don't be foolish to assume that every Chipotle in LA is equal: each location has its own unique rhythm of food preparation, burrito-wrapping and aluminum foil Feng Shui that separates them from the rest. So the next time you're cruising down those sun-glistened LA streets with your stomach rumbling, make sure you stop at the one of these prime burrito parlors to enjoy the best fast-casual Mexican goodness the city has to offer. The one on Riverside Drive near the Warner Bros lot in Burbank Parking at this Chipotle is a mess. It only has a small, cramped lot and not-so-ample street parking available, especially at peak dining times. But take the extra 10 minutes to secure a spot and you'll be treated to some of the freshest ingredients available in Toluca Lake/Burbank. This location is frequented regularly by studio execs and families of powerful industry types, so be careful not to drip any Tabasco sauce on your resume when networking. Seating is plentiful, but burritos are best enjoyed on the patio underneath the red San Fernando Valley sunshine. 4012 W Riverside Drive, Burbank The one at Vine and Sunset Blvd in Hollywood Located amidst the hustle and bustle of Sunset Boulevard, this Chipotle serves up plenty of flavorf

Los Angeles is an amazing city for comedy, and with that comes a huge scene of people trying to make it as comedians. Thousands of dreamers flood into improv classes every year hoping to one day make it big. In reality, only a small fraction of these people will go on to have a successful career in comedy, but the characters who flow in and out of improv programs in LA can be hilariously predictable. With that in mind, here are seven people you'll definitely meet in an LA improv class. 1. The person who tries too hard to be funny  Succeeding at improv is all about getting in the grey zone—reacting to what people are giving you without any mental preparation or plan in place. But there is always that person who concocts some sort of elaborate story or character and ignores your teacher's endless pleas to not overthink it. This clown will turn what should be a simple scene of a mother and son arguing at a store into a Scientologist Tony Stark zombie or something like that. Their heart is in the right place, and they might be pretty funny and nice, but their desire to be the center of attention of every scene throws everyone off their game. (Disclosure: I was/am this person.) 2. The one who's somewhat established as a comedian/comedy personality  Many people who start off in improv classes are new to major comedy cities like New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, and have received very little, if any, introduction into the professional humor world. But chances are you'll bump into a