Hollywood

Friday is Brought to You by Guitar Kitteh

Things to do this weekend in LA:

COMEDY – The X-ecution: Final 4! Kathie Bostian of the Magic Meathands is still in the running! It’s elimination-style improv comedy with $500 and meetings with top talent agencies at stake. Find out who gets eliminated and who moves on to the next week at The Improv Space in Westwood, Friday, 8-9 PM. Tickets: $10.

BOOK RELEASE – Surreal painter/cartoonist Tom Neely has a book release and signing for his new release The Wolf at Secret Headquarters in Silver Lake, Friday, 8-10 PM. Tickets: free. [Interview/preview at LA Weekly]

COMEDY – The Magic Meathands (with me!) and Jump Start: two improv comedy troupes for one night of spontaneous funny, at The Spot Café in Culver City, Saturday, 8-10 PM. Tickets: $7.

COMEDY – Comedy Revival features over a dozen stand-up comics (Steve Simone, Matty Goldberg, Abbey Londer, Hailey Boyle, Francisco Abello, Rosie Tran, Kelsey Cook, Mark Alderson, TK Kelly, Matina Bevis, Erin Hart, Adam Barnhardt, and Ted Twyman!) in the Belly Room of The Comedy Store in Hollywood, Sunday, 8-10 PM.

Friday is brought to you by Doggie Cuddling Kitteh

Things to do in LA this weekend:

COMEDY – The X-ecution: Final 5 Part 2! No one was voted off last week, so Kathie Bostian of the Magic Meathands returns! It’s elimination-style improv comedy with $500 and meetings with top talent agencies at stake. Find out who gets eliminated and who moves on to the next week at The Improv Space in Westwood, Friday, 8-9 PM. Tickets: $10.

COMEDY/COMICS/THEATER – The new and improved Spectacular Superhero Variety Hour at Meltdown Comics in Hollywood, Friday, 8 PM. Tickets: $10. [Interview with director Ben Dickow]

THEATER – Another production of The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged) opens to celebrate the show’s 10th Anniversary. It’s a parody of the Bard’s plays performed by 3 men in 2 hours, at the San Luis Obispo Little Theatre, Friday, 7 PM. Tickets: $25-35.

COMEDY – The improv comedy group Held2Gether does their totally uncensored show Last Laugh Saturday at the Hot Java, Long Beach, Saturday, 8 – 11 PM.

This Friday is brought to you by Human-Tolerating Kittehs

Things to do this weekend in and around LA:

FESTIVAL – Hollywood Fringe is on! See a ton of everything in a bunch of places all over Hollywood, until June 26. Includes a variety of art, such as Pulp Shakespeare (What if Pulp Fiction was written by William Shakespeare?), Marathon Redux (a sampling of Theater of NOTE’s eclectic mix of performance art), Voices From Chornobyl Jr. (interactive/educational theater for kids about the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Disaster), and much more. Tickets: various.

COMICS – Book signing by Gene Luen Yang (American Born Chinese) and Thien Pham for their new graphic novel Level Up published by First Second Books, at Secret Headquarters in Silver Lake, Friday, 7-9 PM.

COMEDY – The X-ecution: Final 5, with Kathie Bostian of the Magic Meathands in the top 5! It’s elimination-style improv comedy with $500 and meetings with top talent agencies at stake. Find out who gets eliminated and who moves on to the next week at The Improv Space in Westwood, Friday, 8-9 PM. Tickets: $10.

THEATER – The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged), a parody of Willie the Shake’s plays performed by 3 men in 2 hours from Accidents Happen Theatre, at Nadia’s Rhythm Room, Sherman Oaks, Saturday, 8-11 PM. Tickets: $12 online, $15 at the door.

COMICS – Graphic Novel Sale where you can buy 2 and get 1 of equal or lesser value free at Golden Apple Comics, Hollywood, until Sunday.

This Friday is brought to you by Gravity Defying Kitteh

Things to do in and around LA this weekend:

COMICS – Reed Gunther Release Party! Celebrate the debut of the all-ages cowboy comic book from Image Comics with creators Shane and Chris Houghton who will be signing and sketching for free. Plus a giant snake! At Golden Apple Comics in Hollywood, Friday, 7 PM – 9 PM.

COMEDY – I perform improv comedy with the Magic Meathands at the Westside Comedy Theater in Santa Monica, Friday, 8 PM. Immediately after us will be the always hilarious Waterbrains and Mission: IMPROVable. Tickets: $10.

ACTIVISM – SlutWalk LA is the latest in a series of demonstrations across North America in response to a Toronto police officer who advised students to not dress like “sluts” as a safety tip to avoid rape. Believing that “those who experience sexual assault are not the ones at fault, without exception,” participants will begin in West Hollywood Park, Saturday, 12:00 noon.

COMMUNITY – The Long Beach Basket Brigade has their 3rd annual fundraiser to help families in and around Long Beach. Silent and live auctions, Texas Hold ’em and Bunco Tournaments, and a fine dinner all help to raise money. At The Grand Event Center in Long Beach, Saturday, 6 PM – 11 PM.

How Can You Talk About Radiation When the Butterflies are Flying?

With Japan having just increased the crisis level of the Fukushima Daiichi power plant disaster from four to seven, putting it on par with Chernobyl, it seems like this couldn’t be any more timelier.

I know, sorry. This is going to be a bummer. I know it would be easier to just pretend like this isn’t happening, or that we don’t need to worry ourselves about it. And I know some have doubted the dangers of high radiation levels in Japan, as they did in Chernobyl. Some have downplayed the concern over Japan’s current problems. After all, everything looks fine. But looks can be deceiving. And sometimes it takes a while for things to not look fine. For an example, take a look at these pictures by Robert Knoth from 2006, the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster. Some of those pictures are tough to look at, but they remind me that people like you and me are affected by this. Voices From Chornobyl does the same with even more power. And they bring me to the conclusion that the benefits of nuclear power are not worth the risk.

As we approach the 25th Anniversary of the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster (April 26, 1986), a Voices From Chornobyl staged reading and discussion is taking place this Friday in Hollywood to help raise awareness.

From their press release:

Voices from Chornobyl tells the aftermath of a mismanaged disaster through the words of those who survived. Written and directed by Cindy Marie Jenkins, the play follows six people asking “What is radiation?” and coping with their changing world.

Friday, April 15th
8pm – Play | Reading
9pm – Radiation Talkback
Buy Tickets $10
Paul G. Gleason Theatre, 6520 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles CA 90028

An informal Radiation Talkback will follow the reading.
Run Time: 50 mins.

Featuring: Bradford Beacom, Carolyn Blais, Enci, Aaron Lyons*, Shawn MacAulay* & Kappa Victoria Wood
Written and Directed by: Cindy Marie Jenkins
Produced by: Rachel Stoll and Cindy Marie Jenkins

Cash bar included. Parking and more info at www.voicesfromchornobyl.com.

A note about the Radiation Talkbacks: In light of recent events, friends of the project will discuss radiation and how we can understand it, including questions they ask themselves when faced with news about nuclear power, Japan, radiation levels, and Fukushima vs. Chornobyl. We are not professors nor experts, and you will probably leave with more questions than answers, but we wish to create a framework for understanding how nuclear power actually affects you, and resources as you learn.