About the novel:
How to find within a life already lived a means to connect with the already-lost? The Use of Regret, a novel in 100+ intricately interconnected sections, is one man’s eternally recirculating journey though the truths and fictions and fantasies of a life that has left him with grave regrets about his absences and the person he turned out to be. Through his mental travels we (re)visit the paradoxical unions of singularity and plurality, separateness and togetherness, and language and the non-linguistic by way of considering the United States as both a single entity and a construction of 300 million minds.

About the author:
Except for his first two years of life (Ohio) and a much later four-month jag (Comoros, a third-worldy island nation in the Indian Ocean between southern Africa and Madagascar), Greggory Moore has always resided in Southern California, including his current digs in a historical landmark in downtown Long Beach. While there (here), he has done various things with words, including for the Los Angeles Times, the OC Weekly, The District Weekly, Daily Kos, L.A. Record, and Long Beach’s Gazette newspapers, along with a number of literary and film journals, Websites, etc. Currently he works as senior contributor for the Long Beach Post, as well as theatre-critic-in-residence for GreaterLongBeach.com.

Moore’s novel is currently for sale at Portfolio Coffeehouse…pick up a copy and have it autographed at Monday’s reading!

4th Street’s Annual Holiday Shopping & Food Truck Event, December 10th, Shops open late from 2-8pm

Avoid the crowded malls this year and SHOP LOCAL on 4th Street for all your holiday needs!

Featuring:
Food & Dessert specialty trucks up & down 4th courtesy of Lunch Truck It, a pop-up food truck stop whose aim is to bring Long Beach professionals, families, students, and local residents together for lunch in neighborhoods across the Long Beach vicinity. On the street, we’ll have the following for your eating pleasure!:
• Buttermilk – 2-6pm @ Artistic Edge (2105 East 4th)
• Chunk-n-Chip 2-8pm @ Feed Store  (2001 E. 4th)
• Palazzolo Gelato 2-8pm @ Meow (2210 E. 4th)
• Global Soul 4-8pm @ Songbird (2300 E. 4th)
• Grilled Cheese 6-9pm @ 4th Street Vine (2142 E. 4th)­

PLUS Special sales, munchies & beverages, music and more at participating merchants:

• 4th Street Vine [2142 E. 4th; 562-343-5463]: Aside from hosting The Grilled Cheese Truck from 6-9pm, there’ll be an ART opening  featuring works by Aaron Giesel & Todd Ciborowski (6pm-close), PLUS  a live performance from Dennis Owens of the famous Good Foot spinning those sweet sounds (8:30-11pm)!

• Art Theatre of Long Beach (2025 East 4th; 562-438-5435): • FREE small popcorn with every ticket to Saturday screenings of the Cannes winner MELANCHOLIA starring Kirsten Dunst (Noon-9:30pm). PLUS, sign up for The Art’s newsletter and you’ll be entered to win 3 sets of passes for FREE movies (winners w/b contacted by email)!

• Assistance League of Long Beach [2100 E. 4th; 562-434-7121]: Santa, baby! 5-8pm

• Atlantic Studio [2310 East 4th; 562-438-8934): Specials include 20% off ALL retail and purchase $100 gift certificate and receive a free gift and $10 coupon for products and services. PLUS: raffle and hor's d'ourves served Noon-6pm!

• FEED Store (2001 East 4th; 562-433-7500): 20% off all shoes and clothing!

• inretrospect [2122 E 4th St; 562-433-6600): Get your photo taken with Elvis Santa & his lovely Chihuahua May May, 5:30-7:30pm.

• {open} [2226 E. 4th; 562-499-OPEN]: Annual Xmas anniversary party feat. the Greater CA Christmas Choir (featuring members of: Wild Pack of Canaries / Miniature Houses / Buffalo Stance / The Bumpers / The Commotions / The Soft Hands / Lassie Foundation / California Lions & more). The night will also include a super sweet solo set by Ray Barbee, spins by DJ LSDavid and holiday refreshments! Plus 40% off all used books!

• NEW STORE: Port [402 St Louis Ave; 562-434-PORT]: Come celebrate our new space, with a little holiday spirit & photos with Santa. 7pm -10pm!

• Salon Pop [2218 E. 4th; 562-987-9200]: 15% off all retail!

• The Center [2017 E. 4th]: FREE Gift Wrapping for 4th Street customers from 2pm-8pm offered by the kids from The Center’s MYTE (Mentoring Youth Through Empowerment) program.

• TREBOR/NEVETS [2116 E. 4th; 562-901-0600]: 20% off all regularly priced table top home décor and accessories.

NEED A RIDE?: Long Beach Pedaler Society will be on the street around 2pm if you don’t feel like driving or pedaling! Reserve a bike for a specific pick up time @ 562-980-1861.

PARKING: In addition to street parking and paid parking in the Edsel Lot on 4th @ Cherry, you can find additional parking at Our Saviours Lutheran Church (4th & Carroll Park West) and behind The Center (4th & St. Louis)!

December 5
Jack Grisham: “An American Demon: A Memoir”
Depravity, redemption, terror, and spiritual deliverance abound in this physically and psychologically complex memoir from Jack Grisham, front man of the pioneer punk band True Sounds of Liberty (TSOL). Spanning the extremes between hard-core punk memoir and handbook for recovery and survival, this narrative documents a youth rebellion that changed the world and offered life lessons rooted in 1980s punk culture. At times unsettling and violent, this book is doused in aggression, rebellion, alcoholism, and drug abuse, culminating in tough lessons of sobriety and absolution. This captivating, dark, and ultimately redemptive life story will fascinate fans of punk and resonate with those who have suffered from addiction issues.

December 12
Carl Lipo: “The Statues That Walked: Unraveling the Mystery of Easter Island”
CSULB Archeology Professor Carl Lipo co-authored this non-fiction tome that’s shaking up the world of science and anthropology, shattering previous theories about the mysterious island and its people. “Statues” explains why the inhabitants of Easter Island built hundreds of eerie monumental stone sculptures and what caused the dramatic collapse of their society. Both Lipo and co-author Terry Hunt will be featured in a forthcoming National Geographic/NOVA Series airing on PBS in the spring of 2012.

December 19
Barbara Ardinger: “Secret Lives”
Secret Lives is a big novel about big issues—aging and death, the way our society treats its senior citizens, women’s friendships, the powers of love, the theory and practice of magic, the rebirth of the Goddess and Her ancient religion. It’s about the untidy mysteries of human life. Secret Lives is set in Long Beach’s historical neighborhood of Rose Park in the late 1980s between 1989-90 and many of the incidents, places, and people are drawn from real life. Barbara Ardinger’s earlier books include Goddess Meditations, Finding New Goddesses (a parody of goddess encyclopedias), and Quicksilver Moon (a realistic novel… except for the vampire). Her day job is as a freelance editor with more than 250 books, both fiction and nonfiction, on a wide range of topics to her credit.

This year, there’s been a big push around the country to support local, independent merchants, and what better place to do so than on 4th Street! Avoid the crowded malls this year and spend a relaxed afternoon taking care of all your shopping needs here on Retro Row.

Here’s what you’ll find on 4th:

• vintage wares and wears
• boutique trinkets & tchotchkes
• kiddie toys and togs
• things for your beauty and your booty
• books ‘n’ CDs
• gift certificates for coffee treats, great eats, hair snips & stylin’ and movie-goin’ freaks
• things with wheels and art & framing deals

Look for discount pricing and special promotions offered at participating shops!

PLUS: FREE Gift Wrapping 4pm-8pm at The Center Long Beach [2017 E. 4th Street], offered by the kids from The Center’s MYTE (Mentoring Youth Through Empowerment) program.

Ride Your Bike & Get Discounts At Participating Merchants for Bike Saturdays! Free bike tune-ups at Biker Mania from 4-6pm.

Shoppers will find bargains on holiday decorations and gifts, fine china, crystal and silver, furs, glitzy clothing and a selection of gift baskets.

The ALB is also open for extended hours during this event:

Thursday 12/1: 10am – 8pm
Friday 12/2: 10am – 7pm
Saturday 12/3: 10am – 6pm
Sunday 12/4: Noon – 6pm

inretrospect is proud to host the appearance of David Weidman, one of California’s most revered mid-century modern artists, at an in-store event on Saturday, November 26th.

This event is a very special celebration of Weidman’s career and body of work and gives fans the opportunity to meet the artist and to see the largest selection of original prints available outside of his studio.  Original, signed Weidman serigraphs and posters — including many from the artist’s private portfolio — will be on exhibit and available for purchase.  In addition, Mr. Weidman will sign copies of The Whimsical Works of David Weidman (and also some serious ones), an informative, full-color biography of his highly creative life and work published in 2008. Refreshments will be served.  Additional information and images of Mr. Weidman’s extensive portfolio of work can be found at www.inretrospect.co.

About David Weidman
David Weidman’s name may not be familiar, but his work certainly is. David began his career in the animation studios and was involved in the creation of many animated classics including Mr. Magoo, Gerald McBoing Boing and Fractured Fairytales. Later he opened a gallery on the famed La Cienega Boulevard which showcased his formidable talent in the silkscreen print medium. His unique and whimsical view of the world is captured in his highly collectible vintage serigraphs and posters. Today, at the age of 89, Mr. Weidman’s staggering body of work, with its graphic sensibility and expert use of saturated color, is just as modern and relevant as it was forty years ago.