If you drink Diet Coke, here is a deal you will want to take advantage of fast. The 99 Cents Only Store on Sunset and Maltman in Silver Lake is selling Diet Coke, four cans for only 99 cents. Get on that!

As the temperature soared near 80 degrees today, I took a stroll around my neighborhood and snapped some pictures (more after the jump) of this perfectly amazing February day. Man, I love LA.

Read the rest of this entry →

Whether you vehemently detest Valentine’s Day or you are looking for something unique to impress your baby cakes this weekend, Captured Aural Phantasy Theater has just what you need to quench that burning desire way down in your special place.

This weekend, the Vaudeville-style throwback troupe will be performing a very special Valentine’s Day Love Spectacular for you love birds and singles alike. Experience an incredibly intimate and sensual feast of esoterically erotic vintage comic book stories that explore love and all of its many splendored things.

Special guest performance by The Blankenship Ballet Company of Venice.

Captured Aural Phantasy Theater is a live, radio hour like show where the performers act out dramatic readings from vintage comic books. Set underneath the stained glass ceiling of the infamous Palm Court Ballroom in the historical Alexandria Hotel, the show often features live music numbers, audience interaction, period costumes and snark galore. Read the rest of this entry →

Trader Joe's in Silver Lake. Photo courtesy of Yelp.com

I have been shopping at the same Trader Joe’s in Silver Lake for years and somehow never knew about their weekly drawing for a $25 gift card.

All you have to do is bring your own bag, or basically not use their paper or disposable bags when you check out, and the cashier will give you a raffle ticket that enters you into their weekly drawing. I’m not sure if every Trader Joe’s offers this or just my local Silver Lake store, but now that I know, I’m going to be sure to bring my own bag from now on.

Do you know of any other stores offering a similar incentive? Drop a comment here and let us know.

The only sentence I love more than “Half-Priced Penis Puppetry” is “Vintage Fashion Expo this weekend,” so can you imagine my absolute delight having the rare opportunity to utter both of these magical sentences in the same week?

If you are like me, then you have a swanky Mad Men themed party to attend in a couple of weeks, and if you know me, then you know with utmost certainty that I have been searching for the perfect outfit every day for the past two weeks, scanning etsy, modcloth and every vintage clothing shop within walking distance of my apartment. Sadly, nothing has caught my attention yet, but I am hoping that is all about to change when the Vintage Fashion Expo hits Santa Monica this weekend.

Taking temporary residence at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium February 6 and 7, the Vintage Fashion Expo will present more than 85 vintage dealers offering the best in vintage clothing and accessories for men and women. The expo will feature women’s hats, gloves, purses, dresses, shoes, costume and estate jewelry, men’s vintage shoes, ties, hats and suits and more. You will also find great vintage eyewear for men and women.

Early admission is $20 and begins Saturday from 9:00 – 10:30 am. Regular admission is $10 and begins Read the rest of this entry →

Check out the soft launch of "Puppetry of the Penis" at the Coast Playhouse this month. Photo courtesy of Goldstar.com.

I’m no stranger to penis puppetry, having emceed an impromptu penis puppetry show in the desert a few years back. I also have a friend who is quite skilled at the art of genital origami. He even has names for each creation such as, “The Birth of a Nation” and “The Double Cheeseburger, Hold the Mayo.” OK, I made up that last one.

Whether you are a long time fan of the art, new to the scene, or just looking for something special to do for Valentine’s Day, Goldstar is offering a great opportunity to experience the international hit, “Puppetry of the Penis” at the Coast Playhouse in West Hollywood. The ticket discounter is offering half-priced tickets to the show February 17 – 21, check out Goldstar.com for more information and to reserve your seat for this very special engagement.

After reading Zach Behrens’ post on LAist last week about the man seen fishing in the L.A. River, I began to consider how little I know about the often hidden natural habitat of our city. Living in such urban surroundings, dwarfed by skyscrapers and barricaded by strip malls, it’s easy to forget that the City of Los Angeles is also a thriving and abundant ecosystem with actual wildlife and everything.

In an effort to learn more, I decided to check out the following books, “The Los Angeles River: Its Life, Death, and Possible Re-birth” by Blake Gumprecht and “Down by the Los Angeles River: Friends of the Los Angeles River’s Official Guide” by Joe Linton. Both are available on Amazon, but I’m first going to see if our brand new Silver Lake Library has them.

I’m certain that there are also many blogs dedicated to this subject, so if you have a particular one that you recommend, please leave a comment here and let me know. I’d love to check it out.

Stop by Home Ec. in Silver Lake this Sunday, January 24 for a bake sale to benefit Doctors Without Borders and their efforts to help the scores of devastated earthquake victims in Haiti. The bake sale will run from from 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM, or until they sell out.

I contacted the ultra sweet and talented owner of Home Ec., Jenny Ryan about Sunday’s event and she said,  “Prices will probably vary from $1.00 to $5.00, depending on the treat, and we’ll have beverages on hand too.”

There will also be vegan friendly baked goods available from Vegan Bake Sale.

100% of the proceeds from the sale will be donated to Doctors Without Borders. For more details on the bake sale, go here or click on the pretty pink flyer to your right.

Speaking of baked things, if you want to ensure that your craving for cupcakes is operating at peak performance, may I suggest Mr. Greens medical marijuana collective just around the corner from Home Ec.?

Natural Mind's Vertical Garden in Silver Lake

An update on Natural Mind, the new salon that is moving into the former Video Market space at 3607 Sunset Blvd in Silver Lake. As you can see in the photos here, a vertical garden has begun to sprout all over the walls of the building. This project has been in the works for months and months and months. Living nearly on top of this building, my neighbors and I have been watching and waiting patiently for this perpetual mess to transform into the oasis that owner, Arnaud Ozharun claims it will be. Now that the garden is beginning to take shape, I am hopeful.

Slated to open in September last year, the salon finally appears to be coming together. When I walked by yesterday, I could see product on the shelves and furniture in place. However, the salon still looks to be at least a few weeks from opening. I for one am very much looking forward to living next to a lush, vertical garden rather than the piles of construction waste and dust filled air that we’ve had to tolerate for so many months.

I’ll be sure to keep you posted as the project progresses. More pictures after the jump. Read the rest of this entry →

Below is a copy of the storm alert that was distributed by U.S. Geological Survey/Pacific Science Center. You gotta love a guy who closes a lengthy memo like this with, “In short,” (thanks to Karineh for the attachment):

“Currently, the strong El Nino is reaching its peak in the Eastern Pacific, and now finally appears to be exerting an influence on our weather.

The strong jet has been apparent for quite some time out over the open water, but the persistent block had prevented it from reaching the coast.  Now that the block has dissolved completely, a 200+ kt jet is barreling towards us.

Multiple large and powerful storm systems are expected to slam into CA from the west and northwest over the coming two weeks, all riding this extremely powerful jet stream directly into the state.

The jet will itself provide tremendous dynamic lift, in addition to directing numerous disturbances right at the state and supplying them with an ample oceanic moisture source. The jet will be at quite a low latitude over much of the Pacific, so these storms will be quite cold, at least initially. Read the rest of this entry →

Harold at the Château de Vincennes on the east side of Paris.

Over the holidays I left the warmth of sunny LA to visit mon homme, Harold in Paris and decided to reveal my comparative observations between these two great cities. Also, I can’t think of anything else to blog about this week.

Weather – I don’t even know why I am bothering to comment on this, as LA is the obvious winner. Visiting France in the winter didn’t help Paris here, but come on, no matter what the season, not many cities are going to beat LA when it comes to our average weather year round, which is quite spectacular.

Public Transportation – As a frequent rider of LA’s Metro system, I feel qualified to declare Paris the winner here. The City of Lights boasts many more trains per hour (like one train every 5 minutes) and is much more accessible than LA’s Metro system. You can get within a few blocks of just about anywhere you need to go. The one drawback is that it can be quite crowded, even during off peak hours.

Cost of Living – LA may not be the cheapest big city, but it sure beats Paris when it comes to housing and food values. Harold’s apartment is a good example. His place is smaller than mine, in a more suburban Read the rest of this entry →

"Elvis" aka Greg Snyder of Wise Guys Events talks to KPCC's Shirley Jihad about the Elvis trivia game, bingo and more his company has planned for the Elvis event at the Egyptian on Sunday (photo courtesy of the Egyptian Theatre).

Celebrate Elvis’ 75th birthday this evening at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. Beginning at 5:30 PM, the event will feature films, special guest Francine York, music and karaoke from Roarshack, the biggest Elvis Mix ‘n Mingle trivia game and bingo west of Memphis from Wise Guys Events (with Elvis-related prizes), food vendors including banana and peanut butter pancake bites from Buttermilk Truck, BBQ from BarbiesQ and birthday cake for the entire audience from La Morenita Bakery.

Of course, there will be Elvis merchandise for sale from Hollywood Book & Poster and prizes from Warner Bros., Bettie Page Clothing, Taschen Books (at the Grove), the Grammy Museum’s “Elvis at 21″ exhibit and Hollywood Book & Poster. The Pig ‘n’ Whistle will also be hosting a “no-host” bar in the Egyptian’s courtyard. I have no idea what a “no-host” bar is, but it sounds like an open bar. They should offer an open bar. It is what Elvis would have wanted.

Then at 7:30 PM, the Elvis Presley Double Feature will begin featuring: Read the rest of this entry →

This Wednesday, January 6, Fred Sablan (Goon Moon) and Jeordie White (Nine Inch Nails, A Perfect Circle, Goon Moon, Marilyn Manson) are DJing at the Bronson Bar from 10:00pm – 2:00am with cheap drink specials until 11:00pm.

Wednesdays are always a great night at the Bronson Bar if you like rock music (“only good stuff,” as Fred always says), no cover charge and people you actually want to hang out with. Pleasantly unusual for a bar in Hollywood, I say.

The Bronson Bar is not actually the name of the bar as far as I know. I think it’s just called The Bar, but people refer to it as the Bronson Bar, obviously because it’s located on Sunset at Bronson. The neon sign on the outside just says “cocktails” or “bar” or something like that. Anyway, don’t expect to see a sign that says, “Bronson Bar” out front, you got it? Now go rock out.

The Daniel, Courtenay, VerdElf® & Cris at SantaCon (photo courtesy of Daniel Hengeveld)

When I first heard that the forecast called for heavy rain two Saturdays ago, I had serious doubts about participating in this year’s SantaCon. However, despite the imminent threat, I once again donned my VerdElf® suit and joined the red tide.  This was my third SantaCon in LA and by far my favorite, perhaps because more of my friends joined this year than in previous years, but I had so much fun that I was actually a bit sad when it was all over. Below are a few excerpts from my SantaCon journal. For a consolidated look at this year’s event, visit the official site here.

11:30 AM: Met Greg (a.k.a Thomas Refferson) at a bus stop in Silver Lake. We took the #4 bus to the Santa Monica/Vermont Red Line station, hopped the train to Union Station, then transferred to the Gold Line. Until we reached Union Station, we were the only two SantaCon revelers in sight. However, despite a few strange looks, we made it to the meeting point without ridicule or incident.

11:50 AM: As we made our way to the next boarding platform, we discovered our first small contingent of SantaCon attendees at Union Station. Immediately relieved to see our own kind, we all exchanged a few obligatory ho ho hos, dispensed with introductions, which goes something like, “Hi Santa, nice to meet you. This is Santa. Hi Santa,” then promptly headed off to our next stop, the Chinatown Metro Station.

12:00 PM: About 10 of us arrived at the Chinatown Metro Station, the official SantaCon meeting point. From high atop the train platform we could see only a few red and white suited people scattered about. I began to worry that the rain had drastically affected the turn out. However, a few moments later we spotted a thick procession of Santas heading our way. Cheer commences.

All Aboard! (photo courtesy of Cris Dobbins)

12:20 PM: Scores of Santas line up to buy Metro day passes and we are told by a shadowy figure to board the Gold Line train east to Mariachi Square.

12:50 PM: Santa somewhat aimlessly mills about Mariachi Square. There are ponies and a brief ceremony where awards for “Best Santa” are randomly doled out. The clouds part and the sun shines on us, if only for a moment. A female Santa vomits in a nearby trash can.

1:30 PM: The red tide returns to the Metro station, continuing east to Indiana and El Mercadito. Santa begins to get restless and thirsty.

1:45 PM: A sea of Santas descend on El Tarasco for dueling mariachi bands, food and much drink. A conga line ensues.

3:00 PM: A shadowy figure alerts Santa to pay his tab. As the red tide spills onto the street, we are assaulted by protesting clowns and bursts of poisonous silly string.

3:30 PM: The staff at Trax Bar in Union Station, while unprepared, handle the onslaught of thirsty Santas with ease. The clowns have followed us here. No one can be trusted. Read the rest of this entry →

Scent Bar in West Hollywood

One of my favorite places to spend a leisurely afternoon in LA is surprisingly not in my precious Silver Lake, but across town in West Hollywood. When I have an afternoon to kill and need some time to myself, the Scent Bar on Beverly is like a little slice of heaven floating on a pastel tuft of cotton candy.

The Scent Bar is more than just a retail store hawking the usual perfumes. Here they encourage you to hang out as long as you like, sampling some of the most rare and exotic fragrances that you won’t likely find at the beauty counter in Nordstrom’s.  My favorites include: 10 Corso Como, L’Artisan Parfumeur, Comme des Garcons, and Costume National, but their selection is truly endless.

For the commitment phobic, you can buy sample sizes of most of their perfumes too, check them out online at luckyscent.com.