I have a close guy friend’s birthday coming, and it hasn’t been easy figuring out what to do with/for him. Dinner and drinks seem to be the obvious and uncreative choice, and all the places I’d like to take him feel like they’re more for me than him. I’m sure he would enjoy the effort, but I’m not too sure if spending the day at MOCA to view abstract art is his idea of a happy birthday.
Happy Birthday, Rob! (Photo courtesy of MOCA)
For those of you who are living on the far east side of LA, make the time to check out the Riverside Art Museum (RAM). It is unlike any other museum visit you will experience.
Located in present day downtown Riverside, the museum building was designed and built in 1929 by renowned architect Julia Morgan and originally served as the city’s first YWCA.
Photo Credit: Riverside Art Museum website
Each holiday comes with it’s own quirks and quarrels. Thanksgiving you eat turkey, but the stress of hanging out with your crazy relatives might just make you throw it all up. Christmas is presents presents presents, but your sister might hate you forever because you skimped on her gift this year because you were broke. New Year’s is fun, but what if you’d rather stay home alone and chill instead of partying it up? And of course, there’s Valentine’s Day..
Not only is there the built-in stress that comes with each holiday, but there is the added pressure to make this day extra romantic and special.. for no particular reason really. It’s what we learned in kindergarten, it’s what we do as adults, and Hallmark, CVS, See’s Candy, Godiva, and Papyrus are all very happy to support our endeavors to make every February 14th special and romantic. Continue Reading »
Before I went to see A Noise Within‘s (ANW) production of Eugene O’Neill‘s Desire Under the Elms, I bought a copy of the play and read it. Though I initially found it difficult to read because of the ambiguous country dialect the characters speak, I found the play to be fascinating. It had all the key ingredients of a good, tragic read: pride, envy, greed, a juicy incestuous love triangle.. I was curious to see how the actors would tackle the difficulty in the unusual vernacular and how the larger-than-life, nearly archetypal Greek characters would be portrayed.
Eben (Jason Dechert, middle) with half-brothers Simeon (Christopher Fairbanks, left) and Peter (Stephen Rockwell, right)
At its essence, The Romance of Magno Rubio is an ill-fated story we have all seen before: the hapless country yokel who is in love with the beautiful babe way out of his league. It differs slightly in that the play is set in 1930s California and revolves around the unrequited love problems of a Filipino migrant worker. However, what breaks this familiar tale from the traditional boy-meets-girl mold is the incorporation of non-traditional storytelling methods.
Though a period piece, written nearly 70 years ago, Arthur Miller’s All My Sons still remains relevant and palpable to audiences today. And if you’ve never seen a play, this is the one to see.
My girlfriend Carolyn and I got invited to a media dinner at Osaka, a sleek new Peruvian Asian fusion restaurant on Hollywood Boulevard. It’s a wonderfully classic and elegant place to go to for an extravagant girls night out or a quiet evening with your family. You can sit at the bar, the main room, or the garden terrace, depending on the kind of ambiance you’re looking for.
The Main Bar. Photo Credit: Lisa C. on Yelp
The menu focuses on traditional Peruvian ingredients blended with Asian flavors from Japan, Thailand, and China. The resulting dishes are an array of innovative ceviches, tiraditos, robata, and signature entrées. The thing about menus at places like this is most of the time A. I don’t know what half the food really is (and I can only guess at what it will taste like) and B. I want to eat everything. What the heck is a tiradito? Is nikkei a kind of fish? And can I try everything on your menu?
For those of you out there who are as indecisive and hungry as I am, I’ve put together this mini guidebook of sorts for you to refer to if you ever stop by this savvy new joint.
What would you do if you were a widow with a daughter who refuses to get married and your next door neighbor is in love with you?
If it were me, I’d crawl into a small dark space, eat chocolate, and sleep till it was over.
These are some of the problems widow Deepa Kirpalani faces in the East West Players‘ production of the world premiere of A Widow of No Importance.
Seol & Company of Korea‘s production of its new original, non-verbal sports musical High Kick began its official two month run yesterday at the Yeongdongpo CGV Art Hall in Seoul, South Korea. Based around soccer, High Kick incorporates not only the nation’s favorite sport but also elements of acrobat, Sepak Tacraw, martial arts, B-boying, and dance.
Being fun-employed is fun up until you realize that every time you go out, you’re dipping into the precious little life savings that you’ve managed to save up (god knows how) and you’re still not employed. Boo.
For those of you who are on a tight budget, I’ve put together a quick list of ways to enjoy the last bit Indian summer without spending too much.
Tan on your driveway.
Sometimes, the beach is too far. And the gas money it takes to get there should be saved towards something important, like new headshots because yours make you look like an overweight preteen. And your friends might be too busy doing important things like working and making money to hang out with you. So why not work on getting some color back into your pasty self? Grab a towel and last year’s suntan oil and lay out on your driveway. Give it a couple of days, and you’ll be a nice buttery brown color. That’ll show your friends to neglect you.
