sha in LA

give a pint, get a pint

I am probably one of the biggest cheerleaders for The American Red Cross amongst my circle of friends. It's is with pleasure that I pass along the following info:

Yesterday, Celia reported that on Friday August 26th from 11am - 7pm there will be a Blood Drive in support of her sister Laura who has cancer and is currently undergoing chemotherapy. But it's not just any Blood Drive, you donate one pint of luscious red liquid otherwise known as blood and in return you get a gift bag which includes a Mega Millions Lotto Ticket and a gift certificate for a free pint of Spaten (luscious golden-brown liquid) from Cole’s during the after-party. The party will feature the band I See Hawks in L.A., so if you're still conscious after donating blood then run right on down and party hard. One piece of helpful info though, the nurses drawing your blood DO NOT WANT TO KNOW that you will be consuming alcoholic beverages after a blood donation so you may want to keep that on the DL. You know what I mean???

I'd be there to support the blood drive however I already have an apheresis donation scheduled for Tuesday August 30th. Plus I can't get out of work during the allotted time and I have a show that evening that I need to be alert for and when I donate blood I MUST sleep afterwards....which is part of the reason I donate platelets instead. However I do plan on stopping by Cole's for the after party and I do hope to see LOTS of post donation people whooping it up.

All the GOREY DETAILS are below:

To set up an appointment, call or email Ali:

[email protected]
OR
[email protected]
phone: 714-715-1685

Blood Drive Location
August 26th, 11am - 7pm
Adam’s Penthouse
533 South Los Angeles St, 7th floor
Between 5th Street & 6th Street

AFTER PARTY
8:00 pm
Cole's P.E. Buffet
118 East 6th Street
Between Main Street & Los Angeles
213-622-4090

GO! It's for a good cause.

fantasy free me

It's August and you know what that means....time to gear up for Fantasy Football.

As the Commissioner of my family's Fantasy Football League, it's becoming more and more difficult each year to keep the order amongst the managers. Certain people have figured out that if they're losing near the end of a season then the best strategy is to take a dive so that they get a good draft pick the following year. That was the headache that I had to deal with last December. Here's to hoping that even with auto-draft I'm able to assemble a stellar team, one that will pummel my cousin Kevin back into reality.

On a positive note, I was listening to some dude on sports talk radio yesterday and he picked the 5 worst teams in the NFL and the Browns were NOT on the list. Ha! They were probably the 6th worst team on the list. It's gonna be a long year on the playground defending my turf.

And it's official; Tofu Tostadas were the most excellent dish at the Tofu Festival. Damn tasty. They are made by people from the Church of Perfect Liberty who have a pretty interesting philosophy on life.

x

don't forget to shower

For any of you night owls out there...tonight at around 1:15 am the Perseid meteor shower is scheduled to make it's yearly visit to the nighttime sky. I wish I could take a drive out to the desert areas and sit back and watch but alas, I'm a working girl. It's OK though, from recent encounters with this annual event even staying in the city affords you prolific views of "shooting stars" so to speak.

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Let's Do the Time Warp Again

Great Scott! Look at what is happening on September 5th at The Hollywood Bowl!!!

And guess who's gonna be there?

I must work on that bottom lip pout, teasing the hair out MUCH more and darker eye make-up. Each time I do the Magenta character it gets a bit better. One day, like when I'm 80, I'll finally have her mastered.

Make sure to check out the Audience Participation Etiquette if you're a newbie and want to check it out.

I'll see my fellow Magentas, Columbias, Rockys and most importantly Riff Raffs (swoon) out there.

x

quickie update

The opening of Seven Redneck Cheerleaders went smashingly for both casts. The audiences seem to like it. Even the people that were friends of friends were telling me how much they enjoyed it. And we had numerous people say they want to come back and check out the other cast. If you're an actor in LA and you've ever done theatre in this town then you MUST come see this show. You'll definitely relate to it in one way or another.

I took a few snaps of opening night proper. I haven't been feeling very "in the picture taking mood" recently. Hopefully I'll get my mojo back soon.

For the past 2 years I've been working on a project with The Los Angeles Conservancy revolving around Wilshire Boulevard. Back in 1978 one of the current staff members walked the length of Wilshire Blvd. with her mother and took slide photographs of most of the buildings and architecture. I was given the slides and had the task of organizing the lot. Some of them will be used in connection with a special Wilshire Blvd. tour that will be happening later on this year. Yesterday I had one of the final "screenings" of the slides to determine which ones they want to use on the website and in promotional material. My life and apartment feels kinda empty without them around. Then again, the clutter aspect and getting rid of 8 slide trays is nice as well.

I'll be at the laundromat after work, finally getting around to my laundry that has been piling up for weeks...thank the heavens.

x

Tofuzilla: When Giant Tofu Takes Over Little Tokyo

Tofu Festival is happening again NEXT weekend. I try to give people ample opportunity to put things on their calendar and schedule accordingly hence the early reminder. Back in May I first posted about this year's festivities and my experience last year.

Thankfully this time around I will have company, as Jim has decided to test the Tofu waters and give it a go. Way to go Jim!!! The tofu tostadas were so delicious that I got the recipe and every once in a while will whip up a batch for myself...YUM! That'll probably be my first stop at the food pavilion. If all else fails there is a beer, wine and sake garden that's sure to please the drinkers out there. What?!? You can purchase a festival package which includes admission for 2, 2 raffle tix, 15 food tix and a cookbook all for $30. However you have to buy it before Wednesday as that's the last day for pre-sale.

No rest for the weary. Or should I say much needed rest for the weary. 7 Redneck Cheerleaders opens tonight and I am so happy. No more having to run the show twice a night. Damn that double cast. Now if I can just work on NOT having a hang over tomorrow while still having fun at the party tonight everything will be perfect.

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7 Redneck Cheerleaders

7 Redneck Cheerleaders is opening this Friday August 5th!!! It plays Wednesday THROUGH Saturday until September 10th and is double cast so it'll rarely be the same show twice with the actors switching it up freely between the casts. Generally speaking Wednesday and Thursday are seperate casts and Friday and Saturday are mixed between the 2, however later in the run all of that logic is thrown out the window and it becomes hell in a hand basket. As long as I have enough actors to fill all the parts on any particular night I'll be happy. Oh, and I'm somewhat featured in a small way. I ain't gonna tell ya' how...you'll just have to come and find out more now won't ya'??? (uh-oh, I'm already starting to pick up the redneck drawl)

Plays411.com has tickets available.

Lillian Theatre
1076 Lillian Way
Los Angeles, CA 90038
(323) 962-0046 Reservations

August 5th - September 10th

All shows start at 8pm!!!

GO TEAM!!!

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Who Says No One Walks in L.A.???

For those that just can't get out of bed early on a Saturday morning here is a chance to get a "teaser" tour of Downtown. I give the first tour leaving from the park at 4:15. It'll be a Historic Core / Evolving Skyline combo and will last about 40 minutes.

**This day is also my 17th anniversary of moving to California!!**

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Free Tours to Celebrate 25 Years of Walking Tour Program!!!

Celebrate 25 years of Conservancy walking tours! On Saturday, August 13, the Conservancy will throw a birthday party at Pershing Square with an afternoon of free downtown walking tours, live music, and picnicking on the grass.

The Conservancy’s popular Walking Tour Program was conceived on August 13, 1980, and later launched with two tours: Pershing Square Landmarks and Broadway Theaters. Today the program boasts 13 regularly offered walking tours of downtown and other historic communities around the city, led by a docent corps of over 100.

The celebration on August 13 will include a 40-minute “sampler” tour of historic downtown, available at no charge, leaving the park every few minutes between 4:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Live musical entertainment will be provided by Bossa Nova 2, performing in the park from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Birthday cake will be served at 5:45 p.m. Bring a picnic and join in the party! No reservations are required. For more information, call (213) 623-2489. Co-sponsored by the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks.

DATE: Saturday, August 13, 2005

TIME: 4:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

* 40 minute “sampler” tours depart every few minutes between 4:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.
* Live Music by Bossa Nova 2 from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

PLACE: Pershing Square Park, located between Olive Street and Hill Street, 5th Street and 6th Street.

COST: Free. No reservations required.

PARKING: Pershing Square Garage (entrances on 6th Street between Olive Street and Hill Street, and from Olive Street between 5th Street and 6th Street), at weekend rates.

rants and raves

From newbies to rockstars to everything in between the swing dance scene has it all, from people that you definitely shouldn’t trust with a knife behind your back to someone that “has your back” if the need arises.

Right now in the “scene” it seems as if everyone is jaded. They don’t like the music or they don’t like a particular venue, they don’t like a certain person or everyone’s dancing is bland. I’m tired of hearing all the negativity. I like dancing. It makes me feel good inside. I’m no fucking rockstar and I’m not a newbie. I just like to dance. I stretch MY boundaries on the dance floor in small ways that count FOR ME. Not anyone else. This scene is more and more like high school everyday and sometimes it’s really frustrating. Then I am reminded of the goodness in the scene. My best-est girlfriend Lisa supports everything I do and is my biggest cheerleader and I met her on the dance floor. There are others who are just as special and I’m pretty sure they know who they are. I’ll save from naming too many names in fear of hurting someone, that’s just not good. However there are 2 people that I would like all of my non-swing friends to know about.

Ben and Sheri rock my socks off. They are passionate about dancing and 2 of the most genuine people I know. If you’ve ever wanted to take some lessons and see what all the fuss is about, in more ways than one, then take their classes. You gotta act quick though because they’re starting a new series on Wednesday. Yes, that’s THIS Wednesday. If that time frame just doesn’t work for you then ask them about September classes. I do believe they will be continuing lessons on a monthly basis.

Who knows, maybe the dancing bug will hit you like it did me.

x

Camp Ho lowdown

The only reason I'm typing is so that I won't fall asleep at my desk. And to update all on the weekend festivities.

Friday night I arrived at the hotel to find that suddenly I had been transported to Las Vegas. No, I wasn't on some crazy drug induced mind bender, a TV show was being filmed there and apparently the LAX Marriott was magically transformed into the Montecito Hotel in Las Vegas by the addition of scantily clad women, pimps and a SWAT team. Combine that with swing dancers dressed up pretending that it was New Years Eve 1935 and you have one interesting evening. I arrived at the ballroom at 11pm and didn't feel like paying $25 for an hours worth of dancing in a steamy room with an overly crowded dance floor so I put that money to good use at the bar and danced during "after hours" (12-4am) for free. Got to bed at 5:15am.

Saturday morning woke at 10:30 and chatted with roommates a bit and ended up napping whilst Lily watched Jerry Maguire...oh the torture. We finally got motivated to leave the room around 1pm. I re-fueled, sat by the pool for a bit and watched some contests in the late afternoon. The evening theme was Pirate Night. The extent of my intent was wearing an eye patch and hoop earrings. All this from a girl who views Halloween as a sacred holiday and I can't even put together a decent costume for a stupid theme dance night. I guess it actually HAS TO BE HALLOWEEN in order for me to get motivated like that. After assisting Lisa with her outfit we arrived at the ballroom sometime around 11pm and made the wise decision again to forgo paying $30 for an hour of steamy dancing and used the time to drink and socialize. I got some dances between the hours of 12-4am and got into bed with sun up at 6:30am.

Sunday morning I somehow awoke at 10:30 but stayed horizontal until all 4 of us girls (Lisa, Heather and Sarah) decided to walk to Denny's about an hour later. Why is it that greasy food is just what you need after alcoholic consumption? In the afternoon I sat by the pool and watched contests - just the same as Saturday. The evening theme was Prom Night. Lot's of bad 80's dresses and ruffle shirts. Ah, the good old days. I assisted Lisa with her hair and I must say this was the best "do" to date. We made it to the evening dance at a decent hour and paid for admission. I danced, drank only a little and said my goodbyes to all. Crawled into bed relatively early at 3:30 and my entire body ached. 8am came far too soon.

The picture taking freak in me didn't surface this weekend. I did however feel compelled to break out the camera when I gazed upon this snazzy couple.

T'was fun for what it's worth, seeing old friends, making new ones and getting a few dances in between.

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