A Slapping Booth?

Los Angeles

If you were planning on going out to the Steve Allen Theater tomorrow night for the screening of Crash you might you want to get there early. Why? Well, the famous Poubelle Twins are running a slapping booth. Ahem.

8 p.m.
Saturday, May 17th
Tickets: $8

STEVE ALLEN THEATER
at the Center For Inquiry - West
4773 Hollywood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90027
(323) 666-4268

West Hollywood Dive-In! And Angel City Drive-In!

Los Angeles

The schedule for this summers family friendly West Hollywood public parks outdoor movie series has been announced and they include a Dive-In at the West Hollywood public pool! If that doesn’t float your boat, don’t forget that we have the Angel City Drive-In downtown as well. I’m a little bummed that I’ll be out of town for Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Hrumph.

Now if they would just release the date for the first Cemetery Screening already!!!

Saturday, June 21
Movies in the Park: Bee Movie
West Hollywood Park

Saturday, July 19
Movies in the Park: High School Musical 2
West Hollywood Park

Saturday, July 26
Dive -In Movie Nights: Alvin and the Chipmunks
West Hollywood Pool

Tuesday, August 5
Movies in the Park: Alvin and the Chipmunks
Plummer Park

Saturday, August 9
Dive -In Movie Nights: Enchanted
West Hollywood Pool

Saturday, August 16
Movies in the Park: Ice Age 2
West Hollywood Park

Saturday, September 13
Dive -In Movie Nights: The Sand Lot
West Hollywood Pool

Saturday, September 20
Movies in the Park: The Game Plan
West Hollywood Park

Saturday, October 18
Movies in the Park: Monster House
West Hollywood Park

Angel City Drive-In Schedule

May 24 - The Boondock Saints

June 14 - Meatballs

June 28 - Breakfast at Tiffany’s

July 12 - Dazed and Confused

July 26 - Xanadu - Special Night Co-Sponsored by the
Angel City Derby Girls

August 9 - Big - FAMILY NIGHT

August 23 - Fight Club

Sep 6 - Say Anything(NEW TIME: Gates: 6:30p Show: 8p)

A Warm Spring Night Spent Square Dancing Under A Bridge

Los Angeles

Wanna learn how to play the banjo? Or maybe how to call a square dance? There is a lot going on over at Farmlab on Saturday and the evening concludes with a Square Dance Social under the stars. Now being that it’s a potluck, don’t forget to bring some vittles!

SATURDAY, MAY 17, 4-11 pm
$ FREE! (donations welcome)
Farmlab | (323) 226-1158 | map
1745 N. Spring St #4, LA 90012

WORKSHOPS
Banjo - Fiddle
Calling

Lounge at Daniel’s Zombie Studio - Bring your instruments!
CALLERS: Susan Michaels,
Jordan Ruhyle, Amy Hofer

FILMS! CAKEWALK! POTLUCK!

Stereolab Is Coming To The States

Los Angeles

Stereolab tour dates have been announced. It’s hard to look so far ahead but it’s nice to hear that they will be in town!

09-20 Costa Mesa, CA - Detroit Bar
09-21 Pomona, CA - Glass House
09-24 Austin, TX - La Zona Rosa
09-26 Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
09-27 Athens, GA - 40 Watt Club
09-29 Carrboro, NC - Cat’s Cradle
09-30 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
10-01 Philadelphia, PA - Trocadero
10-02 New York, NY - Irving Plaza
10-03 New York, NY - Irving Plaza
10-04 New York, NY - Irving Plaza*
10-06 Boston, MA - Paradise *
10-07 Montreal, Quebec - Club Soda *
10-08 Toronto, Ontario - Phoenix Concert Theatre *
10-09 Detroit, MI - The Crofoot *
10-10 Chicago, IL - Vic Theatre *
10-12 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue *
10-14 Denver, CO - Gothic Theatre *
10-17 Seattle, WA - Showbox *
10-18 Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom *
10-19 Vancouver, British Columbia - Commodore Ballroom *
10-21 San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore
10-22 San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore *
10-23 Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda Theatre *
10-24 Solana Beach, CA - Belly Up Tavern *

http://www.myspace.com/stereolab

Who Doesn’t Love Big Hair And Knee High Boots?

Los Angeles

This Saturday there is a midnight showing of Russ Meyer’s Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! at Silver Lake’s Vista Theater! Tickets are only nine dollars and you can purchase them ahead of time through Mondo Celluloid.

WHO WANTS FREE COFFEE!?

The good folks at Cafe at the Vista, the coffee shop right next door to the Vista Theater, have joined in on the excitement of Saturday’s Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! screening by offering screening attendees and friends on Mondo Celluloid a fun promotion! Come on by any time Friday morning through Sunday night, and yell the following FP!K!K! line to the attending barrista:

“JUST DO YOUR JOB, SQUIRREL! FILL IT UP!”

You will be treated to a FREE 12 oz cup of coffee with purchase!

Cafe at the Vista
4473 Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90027

A Secret Party With Elizabeth McGrath! Shhhhh!

Los Angeles

Mrs. McGrath is traveling west from downtown L.A. with new watercolors to Billy Shire Fine Arts in Culver City this weekend along with fellow artist Scott Musgrove. Since I’ve actually oogled over Elizabeth before, I’ll give you a little background on Mr. Musgrove. Not only does this Seattle resident work with paint and wood, he’s also a freelance illustrator, cartoonist (published by Fantagraphics Books and Dark Horse Comics) and creator and producer of the animated TV series Fat Dog Medoza on the Cartoon Network UK.

I personally am in love with his wood carvings! Check out the nose and the lips.

Big Horn Blackfoot by Scott Musgrove

May 10 - June 4, 2008
Opening Reception: Saturday, May 10th, 7-10 pm

The Third Annual Lose Your Pantalones Fiesta? Where Was I For The First Two?

Los Angeles

There is going to be an interesting view through the keyhole tonight. And I am going nowhere near the photobooth in the back room.

Bar 107
107 W.4th St. @ Main
Los Angeles, CA

http://www.myspace.com/bar107

My Favorite Kind of Vitamins

From Madonna to Bjork to Led Zeppelin to AC/DC. The Vitamin String Quartet covers it all. And I cannot get enough. My itunes bill is out of control this month.

http://www.vitaminrecords.com

In Honor Of Cinco de Mayo

Los Angeles

I’ll never forget the first time I moved to Los Angeles in the eighth grade and the taco trucks rolled onto the playground at lunch. For a girl from Jersey who was used to pizza on Fridays in a cafeteria lit by florescent lights, this was a whole new world.

As an adult, I’ll roll up to a taco truck on the side of the road in the wee small hours of the morning for carnitas sopes. Or sometimes I stop by the one parked in Temescal Canyon in the afternoon before I take a long bicycle ride down the coast. Which makes my taco guilt free!

Whether you randomly pass them in an abandoned parking lot after hours or seek them out on The Great Taco Hunt, it’s really hard to imagine the taco trucks not being around. They are a part of the California lifestyle that I have become accustomed to since that first day on the black top at Emerson Junior High.

Please go read about the new laws and restrictions that will put a lot of the trucks out of business at http://saveourtacotrucks.org.

Bike Rides And Gardens? I Love Spring!

Los Angeles

Santa Monica Ferris Wheel Is Rolling Away To Oklahoma

Los Angeles

It’s true. They are dismantling the world’s first solar powered ferris wheel on the pier in Santa Monica. It will come down on Monday and it is being shipped off to it’s e-bay winner in Oklahoma, a real estate investor who had the highest bid at $132,400.00.

This Sunday, Pacific Park is offering free rides on the wheel and will donate one dollar for each person who takes a ride on that day to Los Angeles Chapter of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Pacific Park is also donating half of the winning bid to the Special Olympics of Southern California.

They expect the new $1.5 million dollar ferris wheel at Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier to be up and running by May 22nd.

I’ll be watching!

Pamela Anderson Is Getting Rid Of Her Jugs

Los Angeles

Sorry. That was crass wasn’t it? But it’s true! Pamela is having a giant estate sale this weekend in Malibu. While the ad is up on Craigslist, she also has a website for the event. It looks like she is purging her shabby shiteous belongings as well as fishing and snow equipment, a jacuzzi tub, her bathroom fixtures and a six passenger Chrysler global electric car. Whoa. Bathroom fixtures?

For those who want to check it out, be aware that it starts at 7am tomorrow and you have to meet at the shuttle bus to get to the sale. Hmm… I know she lives in the Colony so does that mean they are bussing people into one of the most expensive private gated beachside communites in Malibu? Damn her neighbors are going to be pisssssed. Say hello to Johnny Carson for me!

Pamela’s Estate Sale

Dark Hand and Lamplight In Los Angeles This Week

Los Angeles

I’ll let the folks at Cinefamily explain this one to us.

Dark Hand & Lamplight
Presented by Family Books

Toronto-based visual artist Shary Boyle aka Dark Hand and musician Doug Paisley aka Lamplight first came together as an opening act for Will Oldham’s 2006 tour of California (under his Bonnie “Prince” Billie moniker.) For the project, Lamplight wrote a collection of new songs, which Dark Hand used as the basis for a new series of artwork. Then, Dark Hand created artwork that Lamplight next used as the basis for new instrumental compositions and improvisations. In a live setting, the duo’s collaborative performance features Lamplight singing and playing guitar while Dark Hand creates live drawings and animates pre-drawn images on an overhead projector. Choreographed to the lyrics and music, Dark Hand projects her artwork onto a screen, the wall, Lamplight, and other available surfaces. For the first time since their original tour, the duo return to California to give a rare performance including their original favorites and new, never-performed material.

Tickets - $10

May 1
8:00PM
Cinefamily/The Silent Movie Theatre

May 7 2008
8:00PM
Hammer Museum

B.Y.O.P.

Los Angeles

Have you ever wanted to spend a night at the museum after closing hours? Well now is your chance. The Orange County Museum of Art is opening it’s doors overnight for a special 24-hour performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.

Don’t forget to B.Y.O.P. The P is for Pillow.

Jim Houser At The Merry Karnowsky Gallery

Los Angeles

If you have not noticed, there have been quite a few artists from my hometown of Philly showing in Los Angeles as of late and now the Merry Karnowsky Gallery is adding one more to the list.

This Saturday, Jim Houser brings Mere Inches to the West Coast with an opening reception from 8-11 PM. I only wish that he could have brought some Tastykakes and soft pretzels in a brown paper bag as well.

Last Remaining Seats Are Selling Out Fast!

Los Angeles

The Los Angeles Conservancy has announced it’s schedule for the 22nd Annual Last Remaining Seats series screening from May 28 to July 2nd in the cities oldest movie palaces. Two films, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes at the Los Angeles Theater and Mildred Pierce at The Million Dollar Theater, have already sold out.

Before you scoff at the price of admission, keep in mind that these are theaters that are either no longer open to the public or no longer screen films. You are paying the price for preserving some of the greatest architecture in Los Angeles. It’s worth it.

June 11 Goldfinger Orpheum Theatre
June 18 Young Frankenstein Los Angeles Theatre
June 25 El rey del barrio Million Dollar Theatre
July 2 Silent Comedy Classics:The Navigator with Day and
Get Out and Get Under Orpheum Theatre

Prices:
$15 for Conservancy members (limit 4) - Join Now!
$18 for the general public (no limit)

Though the series typically sells out, any tickets remaining on the night of the event will be sold at the door for $20.

All performances are general seating.
Doors open at 7 p.m.
Program starts at 8 p.m.
Program ends between 10 and 11 p.m.

Do You Remember The Movie Space Camp?

Los Angeles

For all of the science enthusiasts out there, you should know that the Jet Propulsion Laboratory/NASA in Pasadena has only one weekend every year that they let the public inside for an open house. And that time is now!

Saturday and Sunday,
May 3rd and 4th
9am-5pm

JPL
4800 Oak Grove Drive
Pasadena, California 91109

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov

The Worlds Only Live Wrestling Monster Event

Philadelphia

I was searching for events that were going on in Philly while I’m visiting in June and I came upon Kaiju Big Battel at The Troc. It looks like Gwar and giant bananas inside a wrestling ring? I’m not even sure what to say. Except that I want to go. Can I be the ring girl?

Sunday, June 1 2008
4:00pm

Trocadero Theatre
1003 Arch St
Philadelphia, PA
(215) 922-5483
$19.50

Watch The Dodos Sing Songs At The Natural History Museum

Los Angeles

African Mammal Hall

That’s right! The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County is hosting it’s First Friday event this week featuring Akron/Family and The Dodos. As well as DJ sets in the African Mammal Hall by Carlos Niño and Morpho. Come on, how many people can say that they have danced amongst the spotted hyena?

Art Book Swap This Weekend!

Los Angeles

Many years ago, I got yelled at by a landlord for lining the right side of my stairwell with books. Since then, I’ve stopped buying books all together and instead started using the local library. And while I’ve paired down my collection after a move, it’s still hard to get rid of all of the inspiring and costly art books that I own. But for those of you who need to purge, LACMA is hosting New Art Dealers Alliance and Regency Arts Press first annual Art Book Swap. I’m not actually sure how it’s going to work but what I do know is that any leftovers will be donated to the Bunch Center Prison Outreach Program.

Saturday May 3
12-5
LACMA
5905 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles, CA