Monthly Archives: August 2007

August 31, 2007

Labor Day Weekend: Last Hurrah

Written by Caroline on Crack in Lists, Los Angeles, Movies, Music, Nightlife, Recreation, Shopping & Sales
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Awww, summer’s over. But I don’t want it to be overrrrr! It felt like things were just getting started. Sucks. Anyway, here are some stuff you can do over your long weekend before you have to return to the world of responsible adulthood.

Friday, August 31

REI’s Labor Day Clearance Sale
Stock up on outdoorsy accessories and adventure gear at REI this weekend. 25%-70% off throughout the store. Weeee! New hiking boots, here I come. Of course they’ve got stuff for climbers, bikers and kayakers, too.

  • Through September 3. All 7 locations Rancho Cucamonga, Arcadia, Northridge, Santa Monica, Santa Ana, Huntington and Manhattan Beach.

Trans Am: 2-Year Anniversary Party at Beauty Bar
Kick off your holiday weekend with danceable ’80s music remixed and $2 drink specials. It’s the 2nd anniversary of Trans Am. Yeah, I don’t know what that means either but there’s no cover and you can get a $2 drink between 9:30 and 11pm. Totally tubular!

  • 9:30pm. Free. Beauty Bar, 1638 N Cahuenga Boulevard, Los Angeles. (map)

Dinner and a Movie with 300 at Cinespace
Man, I LOVE this movie. And not for the reasons you think. OK, maybe for some of those reasons. But Cinespace will be screening this extremely bloody flick while serving you dinner. Yeah, I don’t know how people will be able to stomach their food during all that squirty violence but that’ll be fun to watch.

  • Friday, August 31-Saturday, September 1 at 7:30pm. CineSpace, 6356 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles. (map)

Saturday, September 1

Fiesta Hermosa
You may think it’s just a street fair but it’s so much more. For me it marks the end of summer. Sigh. I like to bike down there since it’s too crazy to find parking and then eat some funnel cake, maybe play on the beach, grab some drinks with friends, listen to music, buy some hippy dippy shell jewelry and then bike back.

  • Saturday, September 1-Monday, September 3 from 10am-6pm. Hermosa Avenue and Pier Avenue, Hermosa Beach. (map)

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? at Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Another great movie with two Hollywood legends who, although very cordial to one another during the filming of this movie, were very jealous of each other in real life. Hm, like real sisters! But you gotta love Bette Davis for letting herself get uglified and wacky for this role. In any case, watching Baby Jane in the neighborhood where it was based will certainly be a thrill to L.A. history buffs.

  • Gates open at 7, movie starts at 8:30pm. $10. Hollywood Forever Cemetery, 6000 Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles. (map)

Sunday, September 2

City of Los Angeles’ 226th Birthday Celebration: Walk to L.A.
If you love this city as much as I do, you’ll want to reenact “Los Pobladores – Walk to Los Angeles.” Back on September 2, 1781, 11 Spanish settler families and four Spanish soldiers walked toward the river and established El Pueblo de Los Angeles, which 226 years later has grown into our lovely Los Angeles metropolis. Afterward you can party down at Olvera Street where there will be live music and lots of food. The original walk from the San Gabriel Mission (428 Mission Avenue, San Gabriel) was nine miles but you can also opt for the three-mile hike which starts at Lincoln Park Park (3401 Valley Boulevard, LA).

  • 6am – 6pm. Free. El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historic Site, 125 Paseo de la Plaza, Los Angeles, 90012 at Olvera Street. (map) For information call (213) 485-8372.

3:10 to Yuma Sneak Preview at the ArcLight
September 4th’s Q&A with the movie’s director is sold out but you can still snag tickets to a sneak preview this Sunday. HA ha! This movie already got 100% on the Critics Tomatometer and it hasn’t even come out yet! And if that’s not enough incentive, Christian Bale is in it…oh yeah, and what’s-his-face, Russell Crowe.

  • 7:30pm. $14. Arclight Cinemas, 6360 W Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles. (map) (323) 464-4226

Monday, September 3

Griffith Park Hiking Trails Reopen
I don’t know about you but on Monday, all I really want to do is lie around and soak in the last moments of summer. Or maybe I’ll get motivated and check out the reopened trails at Griffith Park. After the fire back in May which took out 820 acres of the park, a lot of Griffith Park was closed off. But the Mount Hollywood, Vermont Canyon and Royce’s Canyon trails all reopened on August 27 just in time for Labor Day.

  • Griffith Park, Los Angeles. (map)

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August 30, 2007

Lucha VaVOOM’s Halloween Tix on Sale Tomorrow

Written by Caroline on Crack in Los Angeles, Nightlife, Recreation
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I kept seeing this listed in various places but since I’m not into wrestling but at all I kinda shrugged it off. And then something made me give it a second chance so I read up on it some more. Lucha VaVOOM is celebrating its fifth year of sex, violence and midget tossing. If that doesn’t sound surreal enough there’s more. You’ve got the masked luchadores, aka Mexican wrestlers fighting lucha libre style, and the buxom burlesque dancers raising heart rates ringside. Satan will be fighting Elvis and somewhere in there are crazy chickens.

From Downtown News:

That’s Los Gallineros to the rest of us. Those guys were poultry in motion, no doubt about it. Along with other fan favorites like Huracan Ramirez Jr. and the midget wrestlers, Los Minis, they kept the ring rocking.

Unfortunately if you had a mind to go check out tonight’s anniversary festivities, the show, party, all of it is sold out. The good news is that tickets for the Halloween shows on October 30 and 31 and November 1 go on sale tomorrow at noon. So judging by the costumed fun the ghoulish shows will surely offer and this downtown spectacle’s popularity — quickly moving from cult hit to Hollywood hipster hangout to, dare I say, mainstream fun — you might want to get your tickets asap. Weren’t you thinking of dressing up as Nacho Libre this year anyway?

Tickets: Ringside $60 – General $30 — ages 21+ only

Available online and at:
Wacko — 4633 Hollywood Blvd, Los Feliz
Brat — 1938 14th Street, Santa Monica
8-Ball — 1928 West Olive, Burbank
Hollywood Book & Poster — 6562 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood

Venue: Mayan Theater
1038 S. Hill Street
Los Angeles, California 90015 (map)

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August 29, 2007

Back to School: Get a Free Mediabistro Seminar

Written by Caroline on Crack in Los Angeles, Recreation
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Flickr Shot by Night Owl City

Flickr Shot by Night Owl City

Wanna get started on that dream to become a writer by learning how to write a script, magazine article, entertainment blog or a novel? You might want to check out the classes offered by Mediabistro — an online salon for media professionals.

Founder and CEO Laurel Touby interviewed on About.com:

We offer advanced education about media. We’re teaching you the most important things that every media person needs to know. It’s like going to a slow grad school.

They’ve got tons of interesting courses that might be up your alley. AND as part of the site’s Back to School Sale, if you sign up for a class by August 31 you can also get a seminar for free.

A few of the classes offered:

  • Screenwriting: Write a complete screenplay, start to finish, with a master teacher. September 10-December 3, $610.
  • Novel Writing: Draft your novel and learn about the business of getting it published. With Maria A. Del Toro (Underneath It All). September 11-December 5, $610.
  • Online Entertainment Writing (online): Get a job breaking news for leading websites and blogs. With Pauline Millard (Editor & Publisher, Associated Press). September 17-October 15, $350.
  • Writing the TV Spec Script: Create a snappy spec script that will show agents, producers and networks you’re ready for the writer’s room. With producer Chad Gervich. September 26-December 12, $610. Also: TV Pitch Package starts Sept. 18 (Online).

And would you like a free boost with that? Some of the free seminar choices:

For more information, email learn.info@mediabistro.com or call (888) 589-1963 x313.

BTW, besides offering classes mediabistro also has a really extensive media job listings section, which I occasionally like to browse and fantasize about. Hmm, senior producer for MTV.com/music or senior style editor at Hachette Filipacchi? And the site also throws monthly parties where you can mingle with other media professionals while enjoying drink specials and free appetizers.

FYI, for the volunteering sort, if you volunteer to help out at the parties and seminars you can get a free seminar, a discount off a longer course or an AvantGuild membership after you volunteer for three gigs.

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August 28, 2007

The Really Gay Brady Brunch at The Boulevard

Written by Caroline on Crack in Dining, Los Angeles
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With nowhere to go on an early Saturday afternoon after Micky’s burned down last Tuesday, my bro Gerard, my bro-in-gay Chris and their roommate Mutha happily agreed to meet me and Nancy at The Boulevard for its Brady Brunch.

Nancy had told me about it before, saying it was fabulous, gay fabulous. The draw here isn’t food and/or drink specials (since there aren’t any) but rather fun and games. The brunch menu (dishes range from $9 to $16) — with stuff like Fonzie’s French Toast, 4:20 and Peter’s Pulled Pork — sounded like fun but the premise of music and TV shows from the ’50s through the ’70s sounded like something for the “older” crowd.

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August 27, 2007

Tonight: Watch the Total Eclipse of the Moon

Written by Caroline on Crack in Los Angeles, Recreation
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Flickr Shot by Fort Photo
Flickr Shot by Fort Photo

For the second time this year, the moon will be fully eclipsed by the earth’s shadow. Except this time, the West Coast will get ringside seats where before in March we were SOL and the other side of the earth got to see the show instead. HA ha!

From LATIMES.com:

The full eclipse will be visible across the United States, but East Coast viewers will only have about a half-hour to see it before the sun begins to rise and the moon sets. Skywatchers in the West will get the full show.

The eclipse starts at 1:51 am (PST) tonight and lasts for three hours and 33 minutes, reaching totality at about 2:52 am (PST) and ends at 4:22 am (PST) — a period much longer than the typical eclipse. I know, it’s a school night but maybe you might want to set your alarm clock so that you can catch a glimpse of this blood red moon, the deepest and longest in seven years.

You can watch this eclipse with the naked eye but a set of low magnification (7×35 or 7×50) binoculars will allow you to see the red coloration more vividly.

If you miss this show, there’s another eclipse coming on February 28.

EVENT: TONIGHT at 1:51am

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August 26, 2007

The Standard Hollywood: An Uneasy Pool Party

Written by Caroline on Crack in Los Angeles, Nightlife
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Chris from Modular Records was nice enough to invite me to one of her company’s monthly pool parties at the Standard Hollywood on Saturday. Thing is, that is so not my scene but I figure it’s always good to step outside my comfort zone every once in awhile.

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August 24, 2007

This Weekend: Nearing the Last Days of Summer

Written by Caroline on Crack in Art, Beauty & Fashion, Dining, Lists, Los Angeles, Movies, Music, Nightlife, Shopping & Sales
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Tough Gig

Frick! Summer is almost over and I feel like it hadn’t even really got started. What is up with this gloomy weather today?! Anyhoo, enjoy the barbecues, pool parties, summer sales, etc. while you still can…before temps drop 10 degrees.

Saturday, August 25

Modular Pool Party at the Standard on Sunset
Have you done a pool party at the Standard yet? Well you better get on it. Now’s your chance at Modular Records’ pool party at the WeHo Standard. Take a dip while enjoying the musical stylings of the Bang Gang Deejays, L.A. Riots, Mid-City West and DJ Jasepi, and DJ Daisy O.

  • 12-6pm. Free with RSVP. The Standard, 8300 Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood. (map)

Jack Daniels’ Neighborhood BBQ Final Showdown in Venice
All summer the barbecue experts at Jack Daniels’ put on this neighborhood cook-off between local professional chefs and amateur bbq enthusiasts. And this Saturday is the final showdown and the crowning of the Jack Daniels’ Barbecue King of Venice. Mmm, barbecuuuuue.

  • 2-6pm. Free, RSVP. The QuikSilverEdition Mission, 1621 Abbot Kinney Boulevard, Venice Beach. (map)

LF Stores Annual Summer Sale
I ducked into the Santa Monica location last weekend and despite the original triple-digit prices I was able to find lots of cool stuff made affordable by the 60% discount off…EVERYTHING. Shoes, handbags, scarves, jewelry, frilly underwear, dresses, jeans and blouses — all 60% off. Sale ends September 30.

Fuck Yeah Fest IV
Who knew there was a Fuck Yeah Fest I, II and III? But then again, with five different venues for an artsy fartsy crawl with a comedy show (Bob Odenkirk of Mr. Show will be there!), art galleries, and over 50 bands (including Midnight Movies, Lavender Diamond and Deerhunter) performing over the course of two nights, it’s no wonder we’re on #5. Fuck, yeah! Look for the $3 Dewars drinks at the Echo, Echoplex and the Rec Center.

Sunday, August 26

Citizen Smith Indie Film Lounge
Indie films, cocktails, and mingling in a glamorous salon-style setting. What a nice, chill way to spend a Sunday! You can order small plates from the lounge menu all night. Get there early at 8:30 for the mingling, and the movie starts at 9pm.

  • 8:30-11pm. $8. Citizen Smith, 1600 N. Cahuenga Boulevard, Hollywood. For reservations, call (323) 461-5001. (map)

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