sha in LA

culture clash is back in action

Every once in a while I click on the Culture Clash website in the hopes of finding it updated with upcoming performances and the such...well today was the day that my dreams were answered. And it's a good thing too, they're gonna be busy, busy, busy for the next few months.

Some highlights include a 2 night run of Culture Clash in AmeriCCa this coming Friday and Saturday night at Thorne Hall at Occidental College, a public reading of their upcoming play Zorro in Hell on December 3-4 at the Autry and an intimate evening chat sponsored by Zocalo at the Central Public Library on December 14th. The topper is Water & Power at the Mark Taper Forum NEXT August/September. There are other events so be sure to check out the above link to see what fits your schedule and do yourself a favor and check them out.

These guys are seriously amazing. Funny and poignant. A brilliant mix.

GO!

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Cruisin' the Neon

Saturday night I went on the Neon Cruise that is sponsored by the Museum of Neon Art. It was my third outing so I was prepared for the cold and I had my camera with me to attempt a documentation of the signage that traveled by at a high rate of speed. Photos are here. I'm actually quite happy with what I got considering the circumstances.

We started the tour at 7:30pm at MONA and proceeded to Chinatown for our first drink, I mean rest stop. Vodka/Soda, bathroom and a few snaps of signage and we were off to travel back through Downtown, this time focusing on Broadway. We then meandered our way down Beverly, up Rampart where we witnessed a low speed chase complete with 9 cop cars and one helicopter, down Temple, up Virgil to Hollywood proper. Our second drink, I mean rest stop was Canter's. Vodka/Soda, bathroom and cookies. Yum. Our route home focused mainly on Wilshire with a few detours and finally Olympic all the way back to MONA.

Eric was in rare form. Afterwards I popped his proverbial cherry by taking him to the Dresden Room, which in all his years here and all his love of all things gaudy he has never seen. Good times.

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dancing? on second thought...

Yesterday I pondered the idea of checking out Dance Downtown after work today. However, after a mere 4 hour nap between today and today I must re-think my priorities. The fact that I could barely stay awake this past hour and all I can think about is going home and passing out face first on my bed is a big factor. My first Friday night free and a glorious one it will be.

Goodnight.

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escalator etiquette

Every once in a while the subject for this posting has crossed my mind however when sitting down to type the thought escapes me. Seeing as how it's "Friday Light" and I have nothing better to write about I will vent my thoughts/frustration here in the hopes that one by one, the word will get out. Please feel free to spread the gospel especially if you live in LA LA LAND.

STAND ON THE RIGHT

I know we all were taught this at some point in our lives - that you stand on the RIGHT, allowing those who wish to pass to do so on the LEFT. I have encountered absolutely NO ONE in LOS ANGELES that follows this basic rule. One would think that in this health conscious society any extra calories burned would be welcome however I find that to not be the case. Although when I visited D.C. last April I thought I had died and gone to heaven, because 95% of escalator riders in that city have been trained by the commuter politico elite on the correct escalator etiquette. Bliss, pure bliss I was in.

DON'T STOP AT THE END OF THE RIDE

This is probably the number one reason why I usually look for the stairs alternate when faced with having to take a crowded escalator. That and the fact that it's too much hassle kicking everyone in the back of the legs as I try to get by. Why in the world do people get to the end of the escalator ride and then STOP to survey their surroundings as if they just stepped into the colorized version of The Wizard of Oz??? KEEP MOVING people!!!

OK, I'm done, that is all for now. Those are the 2 major points I'd like to get across. I'm sure there are other rules out there like "don't ride with strollers" and "hold onto the handrail" that people should adhere to as well but I won't go there. Let the big bad machines eat you or lurch you forward into an uncontrolled tailspin, all will be good as long as I can pass freely on the LEFT.

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by the way, many thanks to stopdesign for the insanely beautiful picture.

back in full swing

The people over at the Music Center must be doing something right with the Dance Downtown series. I hear it's quite fun even though I've never been able to go and experience it myself. Damn theatre. The series of dance events is back again, starting this coming Friday. My first Friday night off in a really long time. I was planning on going to SEE some theatre but now I may need to re-think my plans as this Friday is the "swing" night. Not sure if I'll actually dance because I have issues with crowded dance floors. I may just go and watch and socialize instead.

• SEPTEMBER 16 - SWING: Flattop Tom & His Jump Cats
• SEPTEMBER 30 - ZYDECO/CAJUN: Bennie & the Swampgators
• OCTOBER 14 - TANGO: Nuestro Tiempo
• OCTOBER 28 - SALSA: Orquesta La Palabra

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Wilshire Boulevard in all it's glory

On Sunday, October 2nd The Los Angeles Conservancy will kick off a 7 week event aimed at showcasing the Grand Boulevard known as Wilshire. Curating the City: Wilshire Boulevard One-Day, Self-Guided Architectural Tour will take place from 10am - 4pm and will feature docent led tours of select historic sites from MacArthur Park to the beach, accompanied by a trilingual booklet and a kids’ activity book. Featured buildings include:

• The monumental Elks Club, now called the Park Plaza Hotel (Curlett & Beelman, 1925), built in the elite Westlake (now MacArthur Park) area for L.A.’s society set.
• A rare inside tour of the Art Deco Bullocks Wilshire building (John & Donald Parkinson, 1929), meticulously restored as part of the Southwestern Law School campus.
• The Byzantine-domed Wilshire Boulevard Temple (A. M. Adelman, S. Tilden Norton, and David S. Allison, 1929), with richly appointed marble and walnut interiors and murals by Hugo Ballin.
• The beloved post-World War II icon, Johnie’s Coffee Shop (Armet & Davis, 1955), normally closed to the public.
• A peek inside the oldest building on Wilshire, the Victorian Wadsworth Chapel (J. Lee Burton, 1900) at the Veterans Affairs West Los Angeles complex, currently closed to the public.
• The Spanish Colonial Revival Miles Playhouse (John Byers, 1929), complete with displays on the history of Santa Monica (co-presented by the Santa Monica Conservancy).

There are other events around town that will be taking place between October 2nd and November 21. You'll need to download the Wilshire Calendar from the above linked website to see all available activities however I've taken special notice to 2 of the following. One event I can attend and the other I cannot. Damn theatre. The event on October 14th at the Petersen Automotive Museum has piqued my interest as I am a huge fan of said museum. The other event on October 27th features one of my bestest friends Eric in a pre-movie lecture on the Boulevard he knows so well.

Friday, October 14 • 7:30-9:00 pm
The Car and the City: An Evening at the Petersen Automotive Museum
Co-presented by the Petersen Automotive Museum

Illustrated lecture by renowned architectural and urban historian Richard Longstreth on the impact of cars and shopping on the urban development of Los Angeles, particularly Wilshire Boulevard; followed by an after-hours visit to the Petersen Automotive Museum and a rooftop reception.

• Free for Petersen and LAC members; non-members: $10 adults/$5 seniors and students/ $3 children (free for ages five and under).
• Reservations recommended; contact the Petersen Education Department at (323) 964-6347 for details and reservations.
• Petersen Automotive Museum, 6060 Wilshire Blvd. (at Fairfax Ave.) Free parking; enter from Fairfax Ave. south of Wilshire Blvd.

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Thursday, October 27, 7:30-10:00 pm
City Views: From Wilshire Boulevard to Shotgun Freeway
Co-presented by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)

Humorous, multimedia ride down Wilshire Boulevard with Eric Lynxwiler, the historian behind the new book, Wilshire Boulevard, Grand Concourse of Los Angeles. Followed by a 10th-anniversary screening of Shotgun Freeway: Drives through Lost L.A., introduced by director Morgan Neville. The film uses archival footage and interviews with James Ellroy, Mike Davis, and Buck Henry, among others, to chart the rapid expansion of L.A. in the post-World War II era.

• $7/$5 LACMA and LAC members, seniors (62+), and students with valid I.D. Tickets available at the LACMA ticket office or call (323) 857-6010.
• Leo S. Bing Theater, LACMA, 5905 Wilshire Blvd.

Of course all of this wraps up (for me) the past 2 years whereby I've organized a vast collection of Wilshire Boulevard photographic slides taken in 1978. Parting is such sweet sorrow.

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Slap & Tickle

...edited on 9/15 to correct minor mistakes.

SLAP & TICKLE
Katrina Benefit

featuring:
Alex Alexander, Steve Altman, John Cariani, Mark Carnessale,
Craig Carlisle, Joanna Daniels, Joe Dietl, Melanie Hutsell,
Jim Hanna, Jay Huguley, Jeff Lewis, Valerie Long, Jayden Lund,
Larry Harris, Rod McLachlan, Dee Ann Newkirk, Frazer Smith,
Amy Scribner, Elizabeth Warner and Ben Zook

with the fabulous Little Miss S. in the booth!!!

Tuesday September 27th, 2005
Wednesday, September 28th, 2005
all shows at 8pm

@ The Lillian Theatre
1076 Lillian Way
(SOUTH of Santa Monica Blvd, between Cahuanga and Vine)
Free Street Parking

RESERVATIONS
(323) 417-9970

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a myriad of subjects

The change of weather that has taken hold of this city in the past few hours is fantastic. It actually sorta feels like Fall Football weather. Yay. I am sad however as I failed to consult a calendar prior to taking my next quickie theatre gig and both Saturday and Sunday this weekend I have to be at the theatre from 9am - 1pm. That's just wrong. Very bummed. Why can't I just come in and learn my part in an hour like I do with the Slap & Tickle folks??? Speaking of....they will be back at the Lillian for 2 performances on September 27th and 28th. I'll get the "official" announcement via e-mail in the next day or so and I'll post the info up here. I'm already getting hits for those kids so I know people are looking for details and I am here to help you, my loving, devoted audience.

Last night was far too much fun. I wont steal Celia's thunder so after she makes her post I will link it up...

One final piece of Public Information, those No Parking signs you see for this coming Sunday is for the Los Angeles Triathlon. Yes, major street arteries in the city will be closed down however if you are like most of my friends and can't even get motivated to move before noon on Sunday you should miss the traffic mess as most street closures re-open by noon at the latest.

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optimism is intoxicating

Anyone wanting to see random shots of the same people over and over and over again should check the 7RC closing weekend photo album on a daily basis. I'll be snapping a few pics each night as we wrap up this crazy ride.

I got a hearty laugh this morning when I checked my e-mail and saw the following headline from the Dodgers, "Watch the Dodgers Race to the Postseason...". Um, postseason golf tournament maybe. OK, it's a bit misleading, you can watch ALL the postseason games for a mere $19.95 on MLB.com. Joy.

The Dodgers have great difficulty winning more than 3 games in a row in a one month period. Their last 3 game winning streak was late August, prior to that mid July, before that they had two relatively close together in early June and late May. Oh and then there was that 8 game winning streak at the beginning of the season in April. But I like the fact that the organization is so....optimistic.

So there you have it, theatre and sports all in one post. My I'm an odd bird.

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it's all GREEK to me...

...revisited.

I shoulda been a Greek. My love of the country, language and not to mention the people is evident. After my first trip to Athens and the Greek Isles when I was 16 I knew I'd have a life long love affair with the Greek culture. My second trip to the area a little over a decade later was just as wonderful as the first. I immediately came home and purchased books on how to speak Greek. I had picked up on rather easy words and phrases during my week stay in the region and could count to 10...well on my way to becoming the fluent Greek Goddess that I secretly want to be.

This weekend is the annual LA Greek Festival at St. Sophia's. Hopefully I'll be the girl with the sassy Greek boy at her side...oh wait a minute...there will be lots of sassy Greek boys there...nevermind. I'll be the girl with the perma-grin on her face...regardless of who is at my side.

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