Prepping for TCM Classic Cruise, departs Port of Miami Thursday
Dec
6
2011
We’re packing sun tan lotion and espadrilles for TCM Cruise, with stops in Key West and Cozumel, departing Thursday afternoon from Port of Miami. Having never taken a cruise before, I checked on the Internet to see what to expect. This is what a cruise “stateroom” looks like. Can’t wait to see what my “cabin” ...
Preparing our Letters of Transit for TCM Classic Cruise 1
Dec
5
2011
The moment arrives soon for the first-ever … er, the first annual Turner Classic Movies TCM Classic Cruise. We fly to Miami on Wednesday and set sail this Thursday for a fun long weekend of floating film geekdom! Destinations: Key West and Cozumel. Getting our letters of transit in order is a huge challenge — ...
Janet Jackson, queen of the desert, thrills fans @ McCallum Theatre gala 4
Twenty minutes after Janet Jackson’s much anticipated “Number Ones: Up Close and Personal” gala concert was scheduled to start Thursday evening at Palm Desert’s McCallum Theatre, some in the audience began to squirm in their seats. Many of the theater’s older patrons, though geared for an unusual performance, were unaccustomed to late-starting rock shows. Suddenly, ...
To Palm Desert to see Janet Jackson
Dec
1
2011
After a weird and crazy night of windstorms in Los Angeles, we’re departing power-free Los Feliz and heading into the sandstorms of the California desert, east of Palm Springs. An amazing experience awaits us; we’re seeing Janet Jackson perform in a very small and intimate space, the McCallum Theatre of Palm Desert. Stay tuned to ...
Holiday picks: Joffrey ‘Nutcracker’ & Lula Washington ‘Kwanzaa’
Nov
29
2011
Dance critics — that bad bunch of bah-hambugg’ers — roll their eyes at the words, “The Nutcracker.” But when the houselights dim, and the Tchaikovsky pours forth, just catch a glimpse of their faces. You know — when the Sugar Plum Whatzz’its dance before their eyes? They love it. You’d have to be a Certified ...
Experimental films by Topanga Canyon creatives @ Los Angeles Filmforum
An upcoming program at Los Angeles Filmforum — screening experimental and avant-garde film and video art, documentaries, and experimental animation — captures my interest. It’s the ninth installment of Filmforum director Adam Hyman’s extensive and rigorous 24-program exhibition of experimental films made in L.A. between 1945 and 1980. This survey fits neatly into the time ...
Quiz: Who got the best gig @ MOCA gala, dancer or bartender? 3
Rehearsals 15 hours none Performance four hours four hours Competition 800 applicants me & my buddy Training MFA in performance from UCLA California bartender license Interactivity Stare like a zombie while guests gnaw on foie gras Chit-chat & flirt all night Drinks Bottle of water after four hours Free drinks all night long ...
The courage of Sara Wookey 4
The subject is the so-called performance art featuring nude dancers on display as dinner-party decorations at the Museum of Contemporary Art’s fundraising gala in mid-November. Some poked heads thru tables as patrons dined; others lay inert with skeletons draped on their bodies. All women decorating tabletops, mind you. No men. It’s a tired idea that ...
WeeGee shoots “Newark with palm trees” — Los Angeles
Nov
26
2011
arts·meme visual arts correspondent, Liz Goldner, contributes this review. “Naked Hollywood: Weegee in Los Angeles,” at the Museum of Contemporary Art (part of the Pacific Standard Time initiative), brings out of near oblivion 200 photographic artworks and a few films, from the late 1940s through the 60s, by and of tabloid photographer, “Weegee” (real name, ...
Go south, PST people — to Long Beach and Orange County
Pacific Standard Time got you overwhelmed? Me too, guys! But here’s a way to break it up, geographically speaking. The weekend of 3-4 December you can lose the L.A.-centricity and check out what’s going on Down Under, you know … Behind the Orange Curtain, er… I mean, you can visit our dear neighbors to the ...