I exited my dentist’s Miracle Mile office not long after 10 a.m. this morning confronted by the absolute beauty of the day — its comfortable crystal clarity prevented me from beelining it on my bike to work. So I took the long way to Westchester. Instead of heading south to Culver City, I cut through Beverly Hills got up onto Santa Monica Boulevard and rolled that thoroughfare all the way to its end where I paused to enjoy the breathtaking views from the palisades before cranking it south along a near-barren beach bikepath to Venice and its pier from which I observed sea lions and dolphins before snapping the above shot of the solitary surfer surveying his vast empire.

Glorious days like this are enough to bring a tear to my eye.

The Leonid Meteor Showers are tonight!  In case you missed that, the Leonid Meteor Showers are tonight!!  It also happens to be a new moon (i.e., the moon is not visible in the night sky), which means it could be “one of the best Leonid showers in years,” according to NASA.  Even cooler: the meteors will appear to be shooting from Mars, due to the happy fact that Mars will be passing by the Leonid radiant right around the time of the shower.

The stars are shooting between midnight and 5am.  Unfortunately, we don’t have a dark sky preserve anywhere near us, so a friend suggests that we catch the show at Echo Mountain (a three mile hike at the end of Lake Avenue off the 210 in Pasadena) or the top of Mt. Hollywood in Griffith Park.  Any other ideas?

An artist rendering of the November 12-13, 1833 Leonid Meteor Showers, courtesy the Wikipedia Commons.

A Fine Frenzy is the irresistibly adorable Alison Sudol, whom I had the pleasure of meeting about a year ago when she swung by my work. Her idiosyncratic sound is one part singer-songwriteress, one part stripped-down Tori Amos, one part Feist and one part you’re-so-cute-I-could-smack-you. She comes to the El Rey with Landon Pigg, whom I saw most recently as the typical rocker-guy-on-tour archetype opposite Ellen Page in “Whip It.” He’s a hot singer in a band who leads her down the proverbial garden path until he goes on tour and well…touring happens. Feh.

But I’m sure he’s not such a douchebag in real life, and Alison is just great, so you should go see this show.  Want tickets? Tell me about a musician you think is so awesome & talented, or so attractive & lucky, that you’ve found yourself oozing resentment every time you see them. I will feel your pain and assign tickets accordingly.

Info on the show is here.

Conserve Water! Drink More Broguiere’s Egg Nog!

“My name’s Jiggy and I approve this message.”

You can haunt/stalk the refrigerated sections of various grocers and minimarts in crapshoot hopes of finding some still on the shelves or maybe if you’re lucky that one bottle way in the back behind the buttermilk that some covetous bagboy buried there in some vain attempt of it eluding capture.

Or you can find the patience to wait until sometime next month when San Francisco-based Strauss’ reportedly awesome version of the holiday nectar arrives at whichever upscale marts carry it.

My wife Susan and me? We opt to cut out the gambling and the middleman and the interminable waiting for an out-of-town product and instead support our local awesomeness with a cruise out to the industrial flats of Montebello to go get some of the limited-time glass-encased lusciousness.

You should to too:

Broguiere’s Dairy
505 S. Maple Avenue
Montebello, CA 90640

In a quick follow up to Lucinda Michele’s post about local tattoo artist Jeremy Swan who was going to attempt to break the world record by completing more than 801 tattoos in 24 hours…

He did it. Quick matchbook math on that says he did one tattoo every 1.6 minutes to pull that off. Which seems about right, I was there at midnight and had an appointment to be in the first hour (because who wants to be in the last hour?!) and was the 12th person to get tattooed. It was kind of a madhouse:

I got these two and he spent about a minute and 10 seconds or so on each. Maybe. Same for the friends I went with so he was off to a good pace. It was super fun to be a part of the event, congrats Jeremy!

Every day you hear different stories about the fate of Medical Marijuana Dispensaries in LA.:  From the city is banning them outright, to the courts upholding that dispensaries can operate in the absence of guidelines from the city council.  But one thing is for sure.  The dispensaries and access are under heavy attack.

I’ve written about it before, but basically, Trutanich, our new city attorney is on a rampage and has vowed to close them all down.  He seems to have backed off a bit (maybe someone in the city pointed out to him that medical marijuana is NOT against the law and is a smart thing to tax and bring sorely needed revenue to our city…)  Here’s how you can help:

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Taking a breather from the city and getting outdoors is almost required in my world. With the glorious weather we’re blessed with, there’s no better time to commune with nature. Lake Cachuma, just north of Santa Barbara is the perfect antidote to the hectic city pace of LA.

A couple of weekends ago, a gang of us met at Lake Cachuma to celebrate a friends birthday…. and it was a blast! We rented a pontoon boat and cruised around the lake, just enjoying the day and each other. It was spectacular! Tons of herons in secret lagoons that fingered off the main lake, thousands of birds bobbing in the water. Although we don’t fish, I hear it’s great fishing.

As we putted around, we found lots of adventures; sandy coves to picnic on, trails, but mostly, we simply drank in the sheer beauty of nature. There’s campsites all around one side of the lake and even yurts you can rent. The boats come in all sizes, easily rented from the marina. Call and check the prices… I know the pontoons are around $150, but split between a couple of people, it’s a deal.  We got a huge one with lots of space and a canvas shade overhead. It was perfect for the day and easily pulled up on the different areas of shore we wanted to explore. Super fun way to spend a fall day!

Seventeen art gallery’s and studios will be hosting the Inglewood Art Walk this weekend.   Courtesy the Parks and Recreation Department there will be free Trolley Tours taking you along the route.  The complete map of the route can be downloaded HERE.

Among the participants are two of my favorite artists Ginger Van Hook (photography) and Luke Van Hook (painting).  They will be hosting the closing reception 5-7Pm on Sunday 11/15 at their studio located at 703 E Hyde Park Blvd, Inglewood, CA.

More information on the artists and art can be found at the Inglewood Open Studio blog.

Photo “Hot Pink Peppers”  by Ginger Van Hook and used with permission.

My friend and fellow blogger Ann Erdman aka Pasadena PIO dropped the tidbit on facebook.  Tonight from 7PM until 3AM Saturday Pasadena PD will be running Sobriety Check Points in random locations around Pasadena.  My advice to the Old Town Pas partiers…take the Gold Line .

Look how much we love you. We’re just BLOWING OUT tickets! And these are fantastic bands: the Mountain Goats are accompanied by Final Fantasy. Wow, there’s so much going on Sunday night and I’d really love to go to this show. The MG’s combine some of the best of The Decemberists, Neutral Milk Hotel, Okkervil River and They Might Be Giants. There’s even a little Dylan in there. I wonder if I can do the two things I’ve already committed to this Sunday night, AND go to this show. Hmm.

Oh well. I may be boned for attending this one, but you should go. To win tickets, leave me the best excuse you’ve ever made up or heard for missing an event. Because I may need to find a good excuse so I can attend this show.

Show info is here.

James Roday

To many of us, he’s the frenetic observational genius with a white hot wit Sean Spencer on USA’s Psych.  It’s a good thing to be.  As an admitted addict of USA’s original programming, I count on those characters to help me blow off steam after a long day of the intensity we call every day life in the City of Angels.  But I have to admit to being surprised (and more than a little excited) when I found out that James Roday was about to hit a local stage right here on theater row to perform a play with the theater company he founded (Red Dog Squadron).

Extinction, a play written by a classmate (Gabe McKinley) of James’ from his NYU days, is the story of two college friends on a wild trip to Atlantic City, a place they go to descend into their favorite vices with dark abandon.  But on this particular trip, something is different and results in a high stakes showdown between friends.  Co-staring with him is a close friend, Michael Weston, an actor who has been on many of the best shows on television from Six Feet Under to House.

I had the opportunity to speak with James and found out what I couldn’t discover with a little Google stalking.  My first question when confronted with someone having the courageousness to do theater in a city notoriously unappreciative of the medium is always about the dangers of that endeavor.  But he was unphased by it.  Red Dog Squadron was something he created as a way to keep himself anchored in the place that first made him want to pursue a creative life.  It was also a means to do all the theater he didn’t get to do between college and a fully formed career.  Like many actors coming out of school, he expected to pay his dues doing stage work while bartending to pay the bills.  But Hollywood came calling early on, rendering that transition unnecessary.

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My boy is back after a week away shooting music and art in Vegas, and boy are his arms tired! Um…sorry. Yes. Anyway, CuriousJosh is here with your to-do list of this week’s weird and wonderful underground events. -Lucinda.

Hello Los Angeles! I’m CuriousJosh, happily here on loan courtesy of LA Weekly. Read on for vampires, live art, Miss Jackson–if you’re nasty–Hello Kitty, underground DJs, and wig socialization opportunities.

Downtown Artwalk (Thursday)
Thousands converge for this culture crawl through Los Angeles’ downtown art district. Visit an array of galleries, speckled with live music, wine, craft sales, and more. FREE

I AM A LASER (Thursday)
When artwalk dies down, the culture continues. DJs and Live art highlight the new monthly I AM A LASER artwalk afterparty at Club Nokia. This month features DJ Take (Dublab/Alpha Pup/Los Angeles), R/D (The Designed Disorder), LC (Cannibal Flower/Think Space), live artwork by Hans Haveron, live painting by John Park, and roving photography by Curious Josh.  $10.

Wig Out! (Thursday)
Get your wig out, and join this offbeat crowds monthly themed wig party. This month DJ My Little Pony, DJ Spinny, and performance art troupe Art of Bleeding spearheads the medical themed health care night. Tonight’s a perfect opportunity to use that Halloween naughty nurse outfit you thought would stay in the closet until next year. $8 with wig/ $10 without. At Bordello. (Great parking and safe!) 901 E 1st St, 90012.

Click thru for vamps, tribal DJ parties, one spooky Kitty, and wardrobe malfunctions en masse.

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That’s right people! Step right up and get your tickets to see the world-famous Raisinets onstage in all their dessicated, fruity, chocolaty glory…wait, what’s that? Hmm? You mean, it’s not raisins? It’s raving?

…

That’s right people! Step right up and get your tickets to see the world-famous Raveonettes onstage in all their dessicated, fruity, chocolaty glory!

Kidding. There’s nothing dessicated or fruity about Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo, even though their names are weird. Although the candy comparison isn’t entirely off–their music lately has become downright dirty, the kind of grungy (not grunge), crusty, fuzzed-out sonic landscapes layered over candy-coated melodies you expected from bands like Jesus & Mary Chain, Stone Roses and more recently, Autolux. So, envision a delicious Mike & Ike dropped on the floor of the dollar movie theatre, and you get my drift. I freaking love this band and I’m pissed I can’t go to this show, but you can, you lucky spud.

To win, tell me your favorite kind of candy in the comments. I’m a candy nut, and we only have one pair of tix to give away, so you better make it good.

According to Skylight Books, Gay LA is its bestselling GLBT title since 1996.  And, really, LA was pretty gay at some point.  To remind us about gay LA, Roots of Equality organized LAvender Los Angeles, a two-week long celebration and analysis of LGBT history and culture in our city.  The exhibit currently is open at The Exchange which, conveniently, also will be open during tonight’s monthly (and free!) Downtown Artwalk.  Just off of 5th and Main, right next to the Must Bar, the exhibit highlights LA gay, bisexual, and transgender culture from the 1880s to the present.  And by “LA,” I don’t mean “West Hollywood” – I’m talking about Pershing Square, bars along Main, and Le Barcita, endpoint of last week’s protest and rally.  After you’re done taking in a little local pride color, join the other hipsters, yuppies, artists, “artists,” loft dwellers, and their lovely dogs as they roam the streets in search of other open galleries in the gentrified sections of the Historic Core.

If you miss the walk, the exhibit is open until November 20 and has fairly generous hours.  There are other LAvender Los Angeles events at the space, including a walking tour of prominent gay locales on Saturday.  The full schedule can be found here.

The LAvender Los Angeles exhibit is located at The Exchange, 114 W. 5th Street (between Spring and Main), and will be open today from 12pm-9:30pm. Other galleries on the Artwalk have their own operating hours, and, judging from past experience, the streets really crawl after 7ish.

Pretty nifty A R T photo taken by Sean_Yoda_Rouse via the Metblogs Flickr pool.

Tough Cookies battle The Swarm on Saturday night. Photo by Stalkerazzi f/8.

The L.A. Derby Dolls 2009 season is drawing to a close. With only one regular season bout left (then the Championship in December,) now is the time to get to the Doll Factory for the most exciting fast-paced, full-contact sport in Los Angeles. LA MetBlogs has your tickets, so read on to find out how to get them.

The bouts have continued to get more and more exciting throughout the season. This Saturday, November 14, the action will reach a fever pitch as the Tough Cookies (2008 Champions) take on The Swarm. Both teams are undefeated this season, and will battle for the top spot in the standings.

Come with me past the jump to win your tickets to this epic bout. As a special bonus, I’ve also got your tickets to Sunday’s Baby Doll Brawl… Read the rest of this entry →