Maybe you've heard about Machine Gallery? If you live in Los Angeles, if you like strange and strangely beautiful events, if you like being buried alive, if you like secret galleries that you peep into through a hole in the floor, if you like depleted uranium and unicorns and flowers and volcanoes and robots, electrons, poets in the wall, ice cream and chemistry...then by god, go to LACMA this Saturday 11/15 from noon to 10 p.m.

Mark Allen and his Machine Gallery army will be taking over the museum. They will put mariachi bands in the elevators. They will teach you how to crochet a hyperbolic coral reef out of plastic garbage bags. They will have a murder mystery thingie that you have to solve. They will have musical performances inside the Richard Serra sculpture. There will be so much more. If you want to read more about Machine and Mark, here is a link to the epic cover story I wrote on them a while back as their embedded journalist for the better part of a year. I say "epic" because each time I'd think I was done, Mark would keep doing more and more cool stuff that I'd try to work in. Per Mark, the LACMA event is "the biggest thing we've ever done, and dare we say, the raddest."

See you on Saturday!

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I spent a mellow, anti-hipster Halloween at my friend Mark's house in the burbs. It was supposed to be a Harry Potter party, but Mark changed his mind at the last minute. Instead of butter beer, he had Guinness and Budweiser. The entire Harry Potter aspect consisted of me, my cousin in a Tonks wig, a girl in Deatheater robes, and one Professor Lupin. Mainly, Mark set up a kind of haunted house in his garage and got some friends to scream at kids and leap out at them from behind dark corners at opportune moments as they wound their way through the maze. And let me tell you, the kids loved it. The simple pleasures are the best part of Halloween. It's funny how far a few yards of garbage bags, twine rope, shredded cloth, the chill in the night air and someone saying "Boo!" will go. People who'd worked on the maze in years past got their name on a styrofoam tombstone. The kids who "survived" the haunted garage were rewarded with candy.

The set-up gets more elaborate each year, I'm told. Mark bought the skulls for 99 cents each at Michaels. He carved the tombstones himself. He had plans to hit the craft stores and Target the next day to capitalize on the after-Halloween sales. Maybe he'd do a mock human sacrifice next time. Maybe they'd pretend to carve out someone's beating heart.

When I got home, I tried to dress my cat in a pumpkin costume. He was very angry and is currently plotting murder.

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Any dude can throw on a dress, spew sassy one-liners, lip-sync the pop diva hit of the moment, and call themselves a queen. But real drag royalty, those who take performing to its most provocative and entertaining heights, are much fewer and further between. L.A.-based bitch goddess, Jackie Beat is definitely in the exclusive cross-dressin’ crew of drag performers as clever as they are camp and she’s got years under her waist-cincher to prove it, performing around the world (stand-up and music shows seen on Comedy Central, VH1 and MTV, tours with the likes of Roseanne Barr) and right here in L.A. at WeHo faves Hamburger Mary’s and Here.

This week, she the brings her vampy vox and skewering song stylings to the stage in Gruesome Twosome, a spooktacular Halloween show -with equally talented, dance-rock art tart Jer Ber Jones- at another of her haunts, Silver Lake’s Cavern Club. If it’s anywhere near the Holiday hi-jinx and hilarity we enjoyed at her X-mas show last year, prepare to laugh up a lung or two. We had a heart-warming chat with the witty/witchy wo(man) this week, and she spilled and thrilled us with everything from cheap makeup tips to Halloween costume ideas to her most shocking anthems to why dressing your kids up like KISS can turn ‘em into transvestites, sweet or otherwise. Read on, if you dare….

Read on...

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Sportswear enthusiasts and fans of British gangster flicks arrived for Nike Sportswear at the Montalbán on Vine in their finest kicks Tuesday night for a screening of Guy Ritchie's latest film, RocknRolla. Nike Dunks and stilettos were the prevailing footwear of choice, complimented by spandex leggings and skinny jeans.

Photograph by Shannon Cottrell.

Over the past two months Nike Sportswear has inhabited the historic Hollywood theater as a retail store and a community events center, outfitting the space in classic Nike T's and bright collections of shoes. The theater hosts free movies curated by Flux on Tuesday nights, and Sports on Stage every Sunday, when the movie screen is tucked away and young community members gather on the old stage to play organized sports.

Photograph by Shannon Cottrell.

Nike Sportswear at the Montalbán is nothing short of a creative collaboration, with walls papered in designs by L.A. artist Geoff McFetridge, a studio upstairs where customers can create their own pair of shoes, and a special edition series of Dunk Highs inspired by the recent street-art documentary Beautiful Losers lining the regal staircase.

Photograph by Shannon Cottrell.

Read on...

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We missed Burning Man this year, sad to say, but photographer Charles Evans, Jr. captured some absolutely stunning images out on the playa. We'll be setting up a slideshow of these images (and many others) in coming days, but for now feel free to borrow fashion tips, transportation ideas and miscellaneous joy from the photographs below.

All photographs by Charles Evans, Jr.

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As you can see from our multiple galleries of Comic-Con 2008 photos, there was much revelry exploding all over downtown San Diego all weekend long. Of course, off the convention center grounds the festivities continued at multiple off-site screenings and parties, one of the biggest of which took place at the Hard Rock Hotel on Saturday night. Co-hosted by film sites including IESB.net and Bloody-Disgusting.com, the Wrath of Con party raged into the night atop the Hard Rock's roof with celebrities mingling with many fans - some of whom were lucky enough to win a pass at the Masters of Web panel on Thursday morning - and an assortment of envious hotel guests peering down on the fun from their rooms. We are still applauding the guy who stood at the window in just a towel for a full five minutes - you are our superhero, man.

Some photos from the red carpet arrivals:

Say cheese, Harley-Davidson girls!

Lena Headey of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

The one, the only Jason Statham. (With Crank 2 co-star Clifton Collins Jr.)

Daniel Waters wrote Heathers. And thus will always be cooler than you.

The all-time bad-ass of horror, Ken Foree (Dawn of the Dead, From Beyond, The Devil's Rejects).

Donnie Darko and Doom Generation's James Duval issues a challenge: Take THAT, Statham.

Okay, now they're just making the Harley girls look bad...

Director of the Saw sequels and Repo!: The Genetic Opera, Darren Lynn Bousman

Doomsday's Rhona Mitra

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PHOTOS BY NICOLE CAMPOS

The force is strong with this one.

Powerpuff Girls Reunion! - l-r: Cathy Cavadini (Blossom), Tara Strong (Bubbles) and EG Daily (Buttercup)

The Visitors have returned! Quick, hide the guinea pigs!

Keeping up with the Joneses.

Sign up now for the 501st! Serve your Empire!

Everywhere you look, beautiful artwork.

For the record, we obliged both these fellas.

"That's really sweet, kid, but I don't do sidekicks. I work alone."

Oy, bloody berserker Canucks...

Fan favorite Wil Wheaton signs for Trekkers and blog fans at the Dumbrella booth.

Hmm... do we believe in second chances?

Call Arkham Asylum, he's escaped!

Simon Pegg and Jessica Hynes (nee Stevenson) introduce the packed late-night screening of their beloved sitcom, Spaced. Eyyyy!

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PHOTOS BY NICOLE CAMPOS

Uhura and Kirk, ready for action

For all titles big and small...

Look out! Iron Monger!

Why not-so-serious, little man?

Five seconds later, Chun Li was a Rancor snack.

Cobra Commander rides the unicorn! Take that, NPH!

And it was, indeed. So say we all.

Bustin' makes you feel extra, extra good.

It just isn't the autograph hall unless you run into Apollo 1.0.

Kowabunga, they forgot their masks!

Wee fans of Lego Batman.

The Mist's Thomas Jane, director Frank Darabont and FX guru Greg Nicotero sign for the fans.

You, too, can be shadowed by an Ugly Doll if you're not careful.

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Artist Kyle Ng's exhibit "We Hear It All" is ongoing at FLUX in Venice until July 18. He's done up the space into a "pop-up natural history museum" with taxidermy dioramas, animal sculptures, bee artifacts, fake snow, a baby llama, honeycombs, a telescope, a mouse fetus and squirrels.




This is a closeup of one piece. These squirrels quarreling with a fox are being carried away by balloons.

If you purchase this piece, I'm told that Kyle will come to your house and set it up. He will place each individual bee in its proper spot. You may not get these exact bees, however. He has extras at home.

Two bees in love.

Would you hang this on your wall? I would. As long as the bees were dead.

There is a room filled with snow. A hand protrudes from beneath. An animal sniffs the hand. Best viewing time is in the evening, when the light casts a blue glow onto the (fake) snow. Be prepared to don booties before entering the room.

This baby llama is watching television. Why? It's what all baby llamas do in the modern forest, of course. Childcare is expensive these days.

Golden walrus with Swarovski crystal encrusted tusks.

This mouse fetus is holding a tiny diamond. Rodent bling.

Ignore for the moment that this is an animal corpse. The contrasting textures are actually quite beautiful.

A limited edition print.

Tell it to the bees.

Kyle Ng: We Hear It All, at FLUX, thru July 18, 326 Sunset Ave., Venice, CA 90291. (310) 295-2523.

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By Danielle Charbonneau

As hundreds of hollering, hyped up bicyclists gather on a side walk in West Los Angeles spilling out into the street and blocking traffic, a man wearing a red cape is standing on top of a parked van with a megaphone. He passionately leans back and screams ,"Are you ready, are you ready for this? Crank..." The crowd fervently screams back, "Mob!"

The scene is C.R.A.N.K Mob - one of the craziest bicycle-riding extravaganzas in Los Angeles. As the excited crowd hops on their bikes and floods the street in one giant pack, motorists are left at a stand-still honking at the madness of the mob.

Bikes adorned with fluorescent glow sticks weaving through their spokes and riders sporting costumes of all sorts pedal their way through the streets to the sounds of giant speakers being pulled by a bike and radio backpacks blaring. The pack eagerly heads to their first destination, 7 Eleven, where the riding stops and the partying begins. Hoards of people pack the store to buy beer and the smell of marijuana wafts in the air. Two long jump ropes provide entertainment for those who aren't dancing.

Read on...

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Grand Sumo Tournament
LA Sports Arena, Sunday, June 8, 2008

Even if you know nothing about sumo wrestling (and I don't), it's incredible how quickly and deeply you become involved in the spectacle while watching it live. I'm not alone. This event was the first experience with live professional sumo wrestling for many of the audience here. It's not like the chance to watch it comes around often — the last time a tournament of this sort was held in Los Angeles was 1981.

The tournament was preceded by pregame festivities: Following the opening ceremony, a group of small children in sumo dress went one-on-one against some of the rikishi, or wrestlers. One wrestler, Aminishiki, greeted his 5-year-old competitor with a bellow that filled the arena. Believe it or not, the kid actually won that match, which leads me to believe that some of the fights may be fixed. Just kidding. Occasionally, the rikishi let a child win. Other wrestlers were swinging their child opponents through the air by their arm or leg.

The matches with kids were followed by shokkiri, a comedic run-through of illegal wrestling moves. Shokkiri only takes place before exhibition matches (or jungyo) like this one, and involves a kind of Laurel and Hardy routine between a big wrestler and a small(er) one, demonstrating eye gouging, kicking, hair pulling and threats against the referee.

Eventually, all 41 rikishi were introduced, and proceeded to the ring. From the crowd's reaction, I realized there were hometown favorites, despite the lack of American sumo wrestlers at this event. First, anyone from Mongolia got huge cheers, and there were several Mongolians competing. Second, Asashoryu, at 325 pounds, was by far the fans' favorite. The first Mongolian to reach the highest rank in sumo, Asashoryu has been a controversial wrestler, which you can learn more about here.

Read on...

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By Pandora Young and Guelda Voien

2008's Erotica LA bills itself as an opportunity for couples to "express their sexuality." In reality, it seemed like an opportunity to buy cool stuff, see porn stars, get marginally creeped out, and then find some salvation in the booths and vendors you would least expect to see there. Among our favorites:

Pink Cross

Pink Cross, the porn star advocacy group, was memorable, if not utterly deflating to that sense of sex-positivity. Pink Cross works to spread the word that the porn community has endemic health issues and to emphasize that "the industry" is not all glamor. The women, all former porn stars, operate their faith-based organization out of Bakersfield, CA. Shelley Lubben started the organization after suffering two miscarriages and one ectopic pregnancy during her years as a porn actress. She also contracted herpes and the human papilloma virus, and now has cervical cancer. Lubben says that over 66% of porn stars carry herpes and that suicide and drug use rates in the porn industry are high. She also says that many porn actresses have abuse in their pasts and are susceptible to further abuse in an industry where regulation has never been well implemented. Having never thought there was a speck of glamour involved in the porn business, we are now thoroughly convinced.

Genitorturers

Pandora: I was surprised to learn that this Florida-based band would be at the convention. Back when I was a Florida-based teenager they pierced my nipple onstage during one of their concerts. Much time has passed since then, but lead singer (and piercer) Gen told us they are still going strong. The fetishistic stage show I remember from my youth has gotten larger and sicker, and they recently released both a CD and a DVD. And there was more, but I was too lost in nostalgia for my wasted youth to pay much attention to what she was saying.

Natch Snatch

The expo was filled with sex-toy companies, but the Natch Snatch booth was the only one that frightened us. Their slogan, which was plastered all over their booth, was “Keep the tox out of your box”. What tox? That would be phthalates, as a company rep explained, which are chemicals used to soften plastics. They’re a common additive in sex toys and can be absorbed into the body through the skin. The science is still out on the danger of pthalates, but some studies have linked phthalate exposure to unpleasantries such as illness, infertility, allergies, and cancer. “Do you really want those chemicals in your pussy?” the rep asked us. Well, no.

Read on...

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