Speaker 1: You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from
Speaker 1: KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2: It's Friday Nights to Nautica de Lak Who's on Later
Speaker 2: with Moe Kelly. Well, I have to say Mo that
Speaker 2: I went to the most amazing museum.
Speaker 3: Uh huh.
Speaker 2: And I know you're gonna crack some jokes a little
Speaker 2: bit later, but I'll tell you we're gonna get We're
Speaker 2: gonna get there. We're gonna come there, Okay. So for
Speaker 2: discover so cal I went to the Balloon Museum located
Speaker 2: at one six zero one East sixth Street in Los
Speaker 2: Angeles at the Ace Mission Studios. Now, if you're looking
Speaker 2: for an adventure that lifts your spirits literally, then you've
Speaker 2: got to check out Let's Fly exhibit at the Balloon
Speaker 2: Museum in Los Angeles. Now, this museum is an explosion
Speaker 2: of color, creativity, and imagination. The moment you walk in,
Speaker 2: you are surrounded by massive, and I mean massive, glowing
Speaker 2: and inflatable artwork that feels like you're stepping into a dream.
Speaker 2: From floating installation into interactive rooms. Every corner invites you
Speaker 2: to play, explore and kind of let your inner child
Speaker 2: take flight. What makes this experience. Even more incredible is
Speaker 2: the lineup of artists behind Let's Fly. It kind of
Speaker 2: brings together some of the most innovative international artists and designers,
Speaker 2: all masters of creative and creating immersive spaces that blend art, technology,
Speaker 2: and play. Their work transforms air, light and space into
Speaker 2: something magical, making you feel like you have stepped into
Speaker 2: a living, breathing work of art. You feel like you
Speaker 2: are part of it now. Whether it's luminous sculptures or
Speaker 2: larger than life inflatables, each piece tells its own stories
Speaker 2: while inviting you to be a part of it. And
Speaker 2: then there is the black ball Pit.
Speaker 4: Wo wo, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa woe.
Speaker 3: Black ball pit.
Speaker 2: Yes, it's a pit fill with black balls. It's it's
Speaker 2: a massive pool filled with I'm serious, Yes, I did.
Speaker 2: It is massive. There are thousands of black balls, and
Speaker 2: when you step inside, the magic really begins. Oh that
Speaker 2: didn't sound they are I should have rewrote this. But anyways,
Speaker 2: A mesmerizing light and sound show unfolds around the black
Speaker 2: ball Pit, turning the space into a swirling dreamscape of
Speaker 2: color and movement.
Speaker 4: Swirling dreamscape of color and movement. Yes, okay yourself.
Speaker 2: It's like floating inside a giant cloud of imagination. Now families,
Speaker 2: couples and friends will all find something to love. Their
Speaker 2: kids run around with wide eyes, adults laugh like there
Speaker 2: are kids again.
Speaker 3: I don't think kids should be allowed in the exhibit
Speaker 3: from the way you describe.
Speaker 2: It, Well, they did enjoy the the pit of black balls.
Speaker 2: It's only three feet, so you know it's okay, and
Speaker 2: even the most serious folks can REI yes, m hm, yeah,
Speaker 2: a yardstick. Plus the way the art interacts with lights
Speaker 2: and movements makes it every every inch just so much fun.
Speaker 2: And I have to tell you that as as you know,
Speaker 2: you walk around, you see everything, and you go into
Speaker 2: these different rooms. There is a bubble room, there is
Speaker 2: a balloon room. There is a room where you could
Speaker 2: just kind of feel like what it's like to blow
Speaker 2: inside of a balloon. I don't know, it's kind of
Speaker 2: weird to describe, but absolutely, it is absolutely just so
Speaker 2: much fun. And let's talk about the photo op because wow,
Speaker 2: every inch of the museum is instagram gold. And I'll
Speaker 2: give you my Instagram a little bit later so you
Speaker 2: could see the pictures. Whether it's a funnel of glowing orbs,
Speaker 2: a massive balloon installation straight out of a fantasy film,
Speaker 2: or a surreal beauty of a black ball pit. Your
Speaker 2: camera roll is about to get some serious upgrade. So
Speaker 2: if you're in La and want something truly magical and fun,
Speaker 2: let's fly at the Balloon Museum. Is a mussy, it's fun, immersive,
Speaker 2: it's just a great experience. Unfortunately, it is only here
Speaker 2: until March sixteenth, twenty twenty five, so you got about
Speaker 2: maybe what two and a half weeks or so. Now.
Speaker 2: The Balloon Museum is located at one six zero one
Speaker 2: East sixth Street in Los Angeles, at the Ace Mission Studios.
Speaker 2: This museum, it is on the pricier side. It's a
Speaker 2: little bit more expensive. Adults are forty nine dollars, Kids
Speaker 2: four to twelve are forty dollars plus tax. And like
Speaker 2: I said, it's here till March sixteenth. And if you
Speaker 2: go to my Instagram at Nautica de la Cruz, I
Speaker 2: just posted a plethora on my instant story of what
Speaker 2: you could expect there. I just gave you kind of
Speaker 2: a little tease.
Speaker 3: But let me tell you, you did it, got that right.
Speaker 2: It was a lot of fun and the black ball
Speaker 2: pit is really the biggest.
Speaker 3: You can't that can't be the name.
Speaker 2: No, it is, it is, it's called it's called the
Speaker 2: ball pit. But there's so many black balls that you know,
Speaker 2: you you just got to call it the black ball pit.
Speaker 5: She won't stop saying, I don't know if the Ballue
Speaker 5: Museum is trying to market itself in the way that
Speaker 5: it's coming across here.
Speaker 2: You know what, Hey, I think I did it justice though,
Speaker 2: I'm just saying, how.
Speaker 3: Many how many hours did you spend? How much time
Speaker 3: did you spend there?
Speaker 2: Well, you, oh, when you buy your tickets, you have
Speaker 2: to set a time when you want to go. We
Speaker 2: were there. I would probably say about an hour and
Speaker 2: a half. Oh, okay, it is fabulous. Oh and another
Speaker 2: thing is this is the LA So if you want
Speaker 2: to go to the website and check it out, check
Speaker 2: it out. It's a balloon museum, dot world slash let's fly.
Speaker 2: But right now, I think there's one in Paris, one
Speaker 2: in LA, one in New York, and there's another location.
Speaker 2: There's like five locations.
Speaker 4: When you were there, what was you said? Obviously families
Speaker 4: were there. What did you see? Was it mostly families, couples, individuals.
Speaker 2: There were when the night I went, during the time
Speaker 2: I went, I went at eight o'clock, there were a
Speaker 2: few families, but mostly couples, and they were having so
Speaker 2: much fun, just so much fun. And there's just a
Speaker 2: lot to see and you just feel like you are
Speaker 2: a balloon itself. Just a lot of great art and
Speaker 2: it's a great experience just to just to go out
Speaker 2: and have fun and see something different. And you know,
Speaker 2: like prior to the week I was here, I talked
Speaker 2: about the Museum of Love, which you know, Pedro said
Speaker 2: he was going to go check out with this significant other.
Speaker 2: But you know, there are so many different museums around
Speaker 2: here that people don't really know about. I didn't know either,
Speaker 2: And like, but this one's for a limited time, like
Speaker 2: I said, it's only here till March sixteenth, so you
Speaker 2: have about two and a half weeks or so. And
Speaker 2: it's just it's fun. It's something fun, it's something different.
Speaker 2: Not every museum is you know, paintings or pictures or sculptures.
Speaker 2: Sometimes it's just art made out of you know, bottle caps.
Speaker 4: Not a good de La Cruz. When we come back,
Speaker 4: we'll have her hidden gym. It's later with mo Kelly
Speaker 4: KIM six forty live everywhere in the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1: You're listening to Later with mo Kelly on demand from
Speaker 1: KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2: It's Friday Nights Withnat Goadak. Who's on Later with mo Kelly.
Speaker 2: Today's Hidden Jim is Carly Vaster. Carli Vaster has had
Speaker 2: always dreamed of making movies. Growing up in San Francisco.
Speaker 2: She spent her childhood glued to classic films or called classics,
Speaker 2: convinced that one day she'd be making those stories and
Speaker 2: bringing those stories to life. When she moved to Los
Speaker 2: Angeles full of ambition, she quickly realized that the industry
Speaker 2: wasn't what she had imagined. Long hours, low pay, and
Speaker 2: competitive culture that left the room for creativity drained her passion.
Speaker 2: She bounced from job to job, trying to find something
Speaker 2: that fit, but stability felt just out of reach. When
Speaker 2: she fell behind on rent, she had nowhere to turn. Eventually,
Speaker 2: she found herself living in her car each night, filled
Speaker 2: with anxiety and exhaustion, unsure of how she was going
Speaker 2: to make it to the next day. The weight of
Speaker 2: all of it became unbearable. She felt like she was
Speaker 2: losing her mind Trapped in a cycle she couldn't escape.
Speaker 2: One night, Carly got a police warning to move her car.
Speaker 2: The officer, noticing her distress, suggested she check out Mental
Speaker 2: Health America of Los Angeles. Desperate for any kind of health,
Speaker 2: she decided to give it a try. Mental Health America
Speaker 2: of Los Angeles is also known as MHALA. At MHALA,
Speaker 2: she found resources she never knew existed, housing assistant, mental
Speaker 2: health support, and job programs that help her regain her footing. Slowly,
Speaker 2: but surely, through the connections and programs they provided, Carly
Speaker 2: started to rebuild her life. Mental Health America of Los
Speaker 2: Angeles mhala dot org provides a crucial lifeline for individuals
Speaker 2: facing challenges like homelessness, mental health struggles, and unemployment. With
Speaker 2: a deep commitment to recovery instability, the organization offers comprehensive
Speaker 2: services including housing support, employment assistance, and mental health care.
Speaker 2: Their programs are designed to meet people where they are,
Speaker 2: offering not just temporary relief, but long term solutions that
Speaker 2: foster independence well being. Each year, the organization serves over
Speaker 2: ten thousand individuals across Los Angeles County. With a folks
Speaker 2: on Veterans, Young adults and those at risk of chronic homelessness.
Speaker 2: Their innovative approach integrates mental health services with practical support,
Speaker 2: ensuring that individuals receive the tools they need to rebuild
Speaker 2: their lives. By providing job training, permanent housing options, and
Speaker 2: peer driven support groups, the organization empowers people to regain
Speaker 2: control over their futures.
Speaker 1: Now.
Speaker 2: The impact of the organization work is undeniable, and more
Speaker 2: than eighty five percent of those who receive housing assistance
Speaker 2: through the organization remain house long term, and thousands find
Speaker 2: employment opportunities through their work development programs. So Carly is
Speaker 2: now a substitute teacher part time and also is a
Speaker 2: waitress part time as well, and she says she would
Speaker 2: like to finish school for anyone that is feeling lost
Speaker 2: or stuck in an impossible situation. M Halla stands as
Speaker 2: a beacon of hope, proving that recovery is possible, support
Speaker 2: is available, and a brighter future is within reach. For
Speaker 2: more information about Mental Health America of Los Angeles, or
Speaker 2: you like to support, please log onto m h A
Speaker 2: l A dot org.
Speaker 3: Mhala m haala.
Speaker 4: Okay, yes, now I always have to ask you, how
Speaker 4: did this person come to your attention.
Speaker 2: I wrote it down. It was a reference from Natalie Bentlee,
Speaker 2: who had hit me up on an email, and she
Speaker 2: told me that she wanted to tell a story of
Speaker 2: a friend, but her friend didn't want to tell the story. So,
Speaker 2: you know, sometimes I have to people don't really they're
Speaker 2: they're scared. They feel like you know, when you do
Speaker 2: a zoom or you're interviewing them, they get a little nervous.
Speaker 2: And so she connected me with Carle Vaster vas t
Speaker 2: e Er and I got to hear her story and
Speaker 2: I enjoyed the fact that she has transfer formed her
Speaker 2: life and she's in a positive life. And she said
Speaker 2: that you know, mental illness and can be dreading on
Speaker 2: a person, and it's sometimes it's hard to get out
Speaker 2: of that space.
Speaker 4: I have learned over the many years of my life
Speaker 4: that the relatives who I thought were quote unquote crazy,
Speaker 4: quote unquote strange, quote unquote weird or whatever, were likely
Speaker 4: suffering from some form of mental illness. And I know,
Speaker 4: just in African American families, we're not as quick to
Speaker 4: identify or make space for it and understand it as
Speaker 4: maybe other communities. I can't speak for other communities, but
Speaker 4: now you know, when you know better, you do better,
Speaker 4: of course. And I think about older relatives and different
Speaker 4: relatives at different times in their lives where oh, yeah,
Speaker 4: that person was probably manic depressive, or that person was
Speaker 4: probably bipolar or some other emotional issue, and you learn
Speaker 4: and then you figure out we probably could have done
Speaker 4: better by them.
Speaker 2: Oh absolutely. I also believe that now we are more
Speaker 2: aware of mental illness. And I don't I don't want
Speaker 2: to say, you know, COVID opened up that can of worms,
Speaker 2: but I also want to recognize the fact that you know,
Speaker 2: now we're getting at least some companies have like a
Speaker 2: mental health day, like if you need to take that
Speaker 2: day off. They also have classes, they're doing small seminars
Speaker 2: or webinars, you know what I mean. And I think
Speaker 2: that we need that because we get stuck on the
Speaker 2: every day go go, go, go go, and we have
Speaker 2: we build things up in our mind and we can't vent,
Speaker 2: we can't release, and so that can kind of sometimes
Speaker 2: become a problem.
Speaker 4: I've also learned that the bind is so very, very powerful,
Speaker 4: and depending on where you point it and depending on
Speaker 4: how you utilize it, it could be the difference between
Speaker 4: success and ruin. You know, a lot of brilliant people
Speaker 4: I've met over the years couldn't either deal with that
Speaker 4: brilliance or couldn't find their place in the world. And
Speaker 4: then you know, you find that they're dealing with other
Speaker 4: issues as well. It gets to be too much for
Speaker 4: them to overcome. And I appreciate when you bring someone
Speaker 4: like Carly Vashli.
Speaker 3: To this discussion because.
Speaker 4: It speaks to me, it speaks to members in my family,
Speaker 4: and I hope that it also speaks to members of
Speaker 4: other people's families who are listening right now, because a
Speaker 4: lot of times we could do a lot to help
Speaker 4: the people right where we are.
Speaker 2: Absolutely, you know, And I want to say that sometimes
Speaker 2: we do get in our head sometimes and I feel
Speaker 2: like we need to release, We need to talk to people,
Speaker 2: We need to find places that can help us, or
Speaker 2: you know, whether it's seeing your pastor or someone at church,
Speaker 2: or you know someone that's you know, a professional in
Speaker 2: some ways. And sometimes we carry this burden. We think, oh,
Speaker 2: we can handle it, we can handle it, we can
Speaker 2: handle it. But with everyday life and all the things
Speaker 2: that we have to do, sometimes you break down. But
Speaker 2: you just need somebody. And I always say it takes
Speaker 2: a village you know, to to to kind of be
Speaker 2: uplifting and we should be that definitely for our friends
Speaker 2: and family.
Speaker 3: She is Nautica de la Cruz.
Speaker 4: Again, if they want to find you, reach out to you,
Speaker 4: recommend someone to you for the hidden gym or even
Speaker 4: a place to see around Los Angeles.
Speaker 3: How can they do that?
Speaker 2: Please? You know what? You could email me Nautica on
Speaker 2: Air at Gmail, Nautica on Air at Gmail, or you
Speaker 2: could also find me on Instagram. I feel like everyone,
Speaker 2: A lot of your listeners find me on Instagram and
Speaker 2: they'll you know, dm me, so you can also find
Speaker 2: me at Nautica de la Cruz and I do answer
Speaker 2: all my emails.
Speaker 3: Your sweatshirt yes see okay okay, d s.
Speaker 4: Your soil, Latina muher and dugata machika. I can't see
Speaker 4: because of the microphone in tela hinte valiente gotta move
Speaker 4: the microphone and the indiente rosa le.
Speaker 2: More.
Speaker 3: I think I understood most of that.
Speaker 6: Yes, le all means faith and more means love. Podosa
Speaker 6: means powerful Orgyosa means proud. Independent That means independent, valiant,
Speaker 6: cognates yeah, intelligentes or intelligence. I should say Machica, Magic,
Speaker 6: Lugala educated.
Speaker 2: Moher Woman and Latina Yoso Latina.
Speaker 3: We all learned something tonight.
Speaker 1: You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from
Speaker 1: KFI A M six forty