It’s not easy to organize a flash mob in a city as notoriously spread out as Los Angeles, which makes the annual international No Pants Metro Ride Day the perfect occasion to rally in the name of fun and public confusion. The requirements: no pants, no explanations.
Give the gift of Christmas/ Hannukah/ Kwanzaa/ Festivus and Valentine’s Day all in one! Lucha VaVoom–the gloriously unhinged mix of Mexican-style lucha libre wrestling, traditional burlesque and blow-by-blow comedic commentary–have announced the return of their annual Valentine’s shows. The three-night engagement is set for Tuesday, February 14, Wednesday, February 15 and Thursday, February 15 at the Mayan Theater (8:00 PM) in downtown Los Angeles. The Valentine’s shows are one of the most popular Lucha VaVOOM events of the year and are the perfect date night, a great night to meet a date, or for those who love the acclaimed troupe’s incomparable mix of SEXO Y VIOLENCIA!
The holidays give us a great opportunity to flex our “sustainability muscles” like He-Man or Xena the Warrior Princess and we can start with doing right the predominant cultural centerpiece of the American living room, the Christmas tree.
My boss came to work Monday excited about her past weekend, having set up her synthetic tree. She has been using it for several seasons now, and she told me that if you use it 9 times or more, it’s impact on the world is less harsh than that of cutting down a real living tree each year. This got my mind wondering… Was this true? Is a re usable plastic tree more sustainable than a single use living tree? What is the best way to recycle both real and synthetic trees? I decided to do some research and report back. The following is what I discovered.
Vampires: Mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence (generally in the form of blood) of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person. – Wikipedia
1. A corpse supposed, in European folklore, to leave its grave at night to drink the blood of the living by biting their necks with long pointed canine teeth. 2. A person who preys ruthlessly on others. – Dictionary.com
A pale yet handsome 104-year old high school boy named Edward Cullen who goes against his better judgment, gives into urges, and falls in love with a mortal named Bella Swan. – Twilight movie series
Clearly, the word “vampire” means something different to everyone, but that’s part of what makes us so curious, isn’t it? Part of the allure of the whole vampire thing is the fact that these supposed creatures are so ambiguous to us. There are people out there that claim to be vampires but what exactly does that mean? Do they really suck people’s blood? Do they have sex in coffins? Do these modern day vampires hide from the daylight and are they immortal?
Michael Vampire, lead singer of Vampires Everywhere!, considers himself to be a modern vampire living in urban Los Angeles and has volunteered to help walk us through common stereotypes regarding the vampire lifestyle. Michael explains what is true and what is far from it and divulges what modern day vampirism is all about:
Ever watch movies like Night of the Living Dead and chastise the zombies for their lack of enthusiasm? Discover redemption in flicks like 28 Days Later – where the zombies have verve, pep, and really want those brains? Now you can run away from those brain-hungry bastards in the Zombie 5 K Marathon !
Trailer and details follow… Read the full story
Not many people can say that they are able to combine business with pleasure but that is very much the case for Molly Atkinson, owner of Echo Park based Pins and Needles. Molly collects vintage pinball games and also makes a living as a seamstress. After finding a prime space above Bedrock Studios that would house her massive twenty game and growing collection as well as accommodate her tailoring business, Molly decided to set up shop and thus Pins and Needles was born.
I wasn’t scared to go into the Museum of Death until I called to talk to the owner J.D. Healy to schedule an appointment for my visit. “Do you know what you are getting yourself into? Have you been here before?” are not usually words that I am used to hearing when calling to schedule a museum tour. J.D. went on to tell me how fabulous his museum was but wanted to make sure that I was aware of the fact that some of the pieces inside are a bit intense and that people do pass out in the middle of their tour from time to time. Long story short, this conversation resulted in a slew of mixed emotions on my part. On one hand I was jumping at the chance to conquer my fears of whatever might lie inside and on the other hand, I basically spent the entire week before my visit a tiny bit on edge.
Johnny Love is such a cheerful name. It sounds like a happy-go-lucky radio announcer on one of those oldies stations. Little do you know that when you meet Johnny Love, he has a dark and mystical infatuation with skeletons, black cats, graveyards, spider webs, bats, ghosts, and witches. His favorite holiday is Halloween and he has dedicated a large portion of his life towards bringing his beloved dark side to life. He’s spent an unfathomable amount of money on frightening décor, has storage units filled with Halloween decorations, and his birthday and Christmas lists consist of ‘presents’ including antique radios, skulls, and vintage chandeliers.
For most of us the awkward creations of our adolescence are safely tucked away in the back of a closet or in the deep reaches of the attic. We stumble upon these relics while packing or spring-cleaning, we laugh, cringe, reminisce and then tuck our creations back in the boxes where they live. Then there are the few among us who drag out old journals, letters, poems, lyrics, plays, home movies, and art and present them publicly. Welcome to the world of Mortified, a hybrid of stand up comedy, performance art and show and tell; a meeting of comedy and catharsis.
Venice Beach has a reputation for being an outstanding location for people watching, but if you’d like to venture beyond the world of crazy tourists, eclectic beach vendors, Muscle Beach, and tattooed passerbys, walk through the doors of the Venice Beach Freakshow. It’s usually hard to miss. Todd Ray, who runs the operation with his son Phoenix, is often outside trying to lure people in with a sneak peak at one of his two-headed turtles. Once inside, you’ll find a world of wonders. The Venice Beach Freak Show currently houses an impressive array of two-headed and very much alive animals, over sixty strange creatures, and a continuously running live show with extraordinary acts such as sword swallowers, the Rubber Girl, fire eaters, the Electric Lady, and Larry the Wolf Boy.