Last weekend at Pacific Media Expo, we were blown away by the overwhelming representation of cuteness. From tea parties to purikura booths, the convention was brimming with all things adorable. Check out what we saw below.
Shannon Cottrell
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World-class boxer Manny Pacquiao can't sing to save his life -- but then, he wouldn't have to, would he? The cantatory low point of the Filipino superstar's appearance at Hollywood's Nike Sportswear at The Montalban on Saturday, a week before his Vegas fight with Miguel Cotto, was his duet with singer Melissa R., a onetime Pussycat Dolls contender.
Mel Yiasemide From left: Alex Ariza, Manny Pacquiao, Freddie Roach, Buboy Fernandez
Vocal talent aside, there's no denying Pacquiao's impact on LA's Filipinos: They pack the space wherever he appears, going wild and shouting his name when he takes the stage. When he sings the refrain of his song -- with its repeated chant of "Filipino" -- you don't have to be from the Philippines to feel the pride.
MTV VJ Quddus was the host for Saturday's event, Under the Hood With Manny Pacquiao. Quddus fielded audience questions while a coy Pacquiao, flanked by trainers Freddie Roach, Buboy Fernandez and Alex Ariza, slided his responses between audience howls.
Shannon Cottrell Angelic Pretty fans with designers Maki and Asuka
Pacific Media Expo isn't what you would expect from a convention. Yes, there are panels focusing on various aspects of the anime fandom and screening rooms showing new series, but PMX is much more than anime. The annual, three-day gathering brings together a wide variety of Asian pop culture phenomenon, from Japanese fashion to Korean dramas to Filipino martial arts. For many companies, it's a testing ground to see what products have promise in the US market. For fans, it's a place to find and often purchase items that normally cannot be found outside of Asian countries.
What's better than watching Biff Griff get arrested outside the clock tower while chilling on your hoverboard? Nothing, actually. But sneaking into a parking lot at the Universal Studios back lot to play inside the original Back to the Future DeLorean time machine is pretty damn close. Check out these photos from one recent late-night adventure...
Erin Broadley
In a stunning upset, underdog Howdy Doo-Me out ran Swine Flu at the West Hollywood Drag Race yesterday, capturing the title as the fastest drag queen in high heels over two inches high.
Patrick Range McDonald West Hollywood Mayor Abbe Land (l-r), champion Howdy Doo-Me, Swine Flu, and third place finisher Sticky Fingers
Favorite Swine Flu, dressed in a flowing, pink evening gown and a pig mask, ran the race with a broken, left heel, which may have helped Howdy Doo-Me, who wore a tight-fitting, red-white-and-blue-sequined dress, pull off the victory.
Patrick Range McDonald Emcee Eugelicious with second place finisher Swine Flu
Liz Ohanesian Taking in the James Jean installation at Giant Robot Biennale
Giant Robot first appeared in the midst of the 'zine revolution of the 1990s as a small, photocopied digest of Asian and Asian-American pop culture. For many, the L.A.-based publication became the first place Americans read about film stars like Jet Li and Jackie Chan, Japanese street fashion and a wide variety of Asian foods that are now commonplace in Los Angeles. However, by the beginning of this decade, Giant Robot expanded beyond its reputation as a pop culture tome and became a must-read for information on up and coming artists. Yoshitomo Nara, kozyndan and Takashi Murakami are just a few to receive early exposure in the magazine.
Walking through a narrow corridor inside the Ivy Substation in Culver City, one can already feel the energy. The space that once powered electric trolley cars on Venice Blvd. is now home to The Actors' Gang Theater. Everyone is gathered here on a Wednesday night at the WTF?! Festival to see The Aristocrats, a 2005 documentary about the most disgusting joke ever told between comedians.
Before the screening begins, we are led into a small outside courtyard in the back of the theater. The DJ is spinning Bob Dylan's "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" as small lights adorn above giving the space an intimate, bohemian appeal. Paul Provenza, director of the film, mingles happily with fans and friends. Also among the crowd is the talented Tim Robbins, artistic director of the Actors' Gang and curator of the WTF?! Festival. 
Tim Robbins
Liz Ohanesian
Last night's opening of Royal/T's Three Apples exhibition in celebration of Hello Kitty's thirty-fifth anniversary was a feast for the eyes. Filled with artwork, a Hello Kitty apartment display, an Airstream decorated Kitty-style by Cynthia Rowley and a pop-up shop, there would have been more than enough sugary visuals had LA's fashionistas not arrived in themed outfits. But, they did and we felt a bit inspired by the amount of creativity that went into their outfits. Take a look for yourself.
Shannon Cottrell
There are two major misconceptions about Dungeon Master, which runs at the Write Act Repertory ever other Sunday on a seasonal basis. The first is that it's a fetish event. It's not. The second, that Dungeon Master is a LARP gathering, is a little more understandable given the show's roots in fantasy role playing games. But, again, it's not accurate.
The American Cinematheque's latest series, "The Internet Goes Boom," couldn't have kicked off at a better time. With this year's Creative Emmys, the Internet programming age received a massive jolt of mainstream validation with the short-format, live-action entertainment program win for Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, Joss Whedon's wildly popular three-part, musical-comedy-action, Neil Patrick Harris-starring supervillain origin story. (Yeah, it's a mouthful, but that barely begins to do it justice.) To say anything Whedon does is wildly popular amongst geek circles is a bit of an understatement, as evidenced by the throngs of fans who turned out at the Egyptian for the screening, as well as for leading lady Felicia Day's equally beloved Web series, The Guild. (It was quite a diverse crowd, as well, from Whedon's Dollhouse cast members Dichen Lachman and Enver Gjokai cheering on the boss, to a pint-sized Dr. Horrible in the second row with his beaming mamma.)
Nicole Campos It's a ubiquitous shirt by now, but extra appropriate for this event
For fans, part of the allure of heading down to a convention is having the chance to meet your favorite stars and perhaps snag a photo or have them sign a comic book or DVD for you. However, this privilege often comes with a price tag on top of the entrance fee. At Long Beach Comic Con last weekend, we scoured the celebrity lane to get an idea of what the famed figures of the fandom were charging. Twenty dollars seemed to be the going rate for autographs and photo ops, though some of the bigger stars, like Lou Ferrigno, charged $30 for a chance to snap a picture. Stan Lee, we were told, offered signatures for about $45. As steep as that may seem, these price tags are about average. 
Shannon Cottrell Kerin Amit and Jennifer Salas, two fans who haven't had to pay for an autograph yet.
While not everyone who appears at a convention will charge for an autograph or photo, it is considered an accepted practice at many of these events (although, from our experience, at anime conventions, people tend to sign for free). Convention Fans, the blog that has become our required reading for keeping up on national con news, has some great posts about the skyrocketing price of spending a few seconds with sci-fi icons.
Is it reasonable to charge for a signing or is it asking too much from people who have already supported your comic books, films and TV shows?
Ian "Black Bolt" Frazier, 26
Shannon Cottrell
What's the most you've paid for an autograph?
Funny story, $45 to get Stan Lee's autograph and he left fifteen minutes before I got to him because I was putting on the costume to get the first appearance of Black Bolt from 1967 signed by him. I did not get to meet Stan Lee and I had to give the comic to them to ship back to me with the signature. Tragedy...He was supposed to be there until one, but he left at twelve-thirty. Nothing against you, Stan, I'm just a little bummed. I was going to meet my creator.
Shannon Cottrell
In the back of Robertson Blvd. concept store WeSC, past the hordes of people cramped together between racks of clothing, a small patio had been transformed into a midnight forest. It was the sort of place where if a goblin were to grab one's shoulder, it wouldn't be so surprising. Instead, though, we were treated to Little Dreams, a one-night show from artists Vanessa Prager and Lizzy Waronker.
Prager and Waronker are two very different artists whose styles complement each other nicely. In her paintings, Prager uses rich colors to depict scenes as whimsical as they are tense. Waronker pieces together objects like twigs and broken doll pieces to create fantastically dark worlds in her sculptures. Check out their pieces below.
Though it'll be in syndication until Octo-mom's children have children of their own, The Golden Gays are bringing The Golden Girls back into the prime time of our hearts. As they prepared for opening night of the show's two-week run at Casita del Campo in Silver Lake (followed by another run at the Complex Hollywood), Sophia, Dorothy, Blanche and Rose -- as reincarnated by David Romano, John W. McLaughlin, John Blaine Downey III and Irwin Moskowitz -- took time to answer some of our burning questions. Estelle Getty and Bea Arthur, by the way, are not dead, they're just resting. 
The Golden Gays
How do you feel about that bitch Heidi Klum and the rest of Project Runway taking over the Golden Girls' time slot on the Lifetime network?
Sophia: I like the gay guy a lot, but I can't understand a word the blonde bimbo is saying.
Dorothy: Well, let's just see who Lifetime comes crawling back to when Ms. Klum's
15 minutes are up. Who wants to watch abunch of fashionista wannabees cutting up cheap fabric anyway? One day you're in, the next day you're on I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here.
Blanche: Heidi is a doll. I've bumped into her several times at the Beverly Glen Market with that fine specimen of a man of hers when I was buying my produce. You know what they say, good shows will play again in reruns. Plus, Heidi and I are like sisters under the skin. We both have fabulous legs. And there is only a slight age difference. So I'm not jealous.
Rose: Couldn't care less. (You'll find that Rose's answers are a little shorter. That's because she didn't understand them and the other girls got tired of explaining.)
In honor of International Talk Like a Pirate Day, we headed down to Long Beach on Saturday for Pyrate Daze. Held aboard the Queen Mary, Pyrate Daze is a two-day event featuring music, masquerade, merchandise and even a cannon show. With the involvement of steampunk-themed band Abney Park and local performance group The League of S.T.E.A.M., though, this was more than a simple celebration of buccaneers. The pirates far outnumbered the steampunks, but the latter brought with them an element of Victorian-influenced fantasy. Both groups came armed with creativity and dressed in brilliantly detailed costumes, but we had to wonder, did one outdo the other? We came up with our own awards below.
Best Zombie
Shannon Cottrell
Pirates: Mic the Scallywag told us he is something between living and dead. "Does that mean you're a zombie?" I asked. "Aye, you could say that if you'd like," he answered. And so we will. With his blue-tinted skin and algae coated eyes, Mic is a fright, but one who kept us endlessly entertained.
Pomona is closer to the San Bernardino County line than to downtown Los Angeles, but for more than 85 years, millions of Angelenos have made the drive to check out the end-of-summer extravaganza known as the L.A. County Fair. This year, we learned that on Fridays, you can get into the Fair in exchange for five cans of Ralph's brand food. So we hit the grocery store and headed down to the Fairplex in search of the strange, the cool and the scary. After getting sidetracked by the overwhelming cuteness of baby animals, we came across these finds. 
Shannon Cottrell Pig races
Dodger Coffin
Shannon Cottrell Dodger Coffin
There's something disturbing about talking to a representative of Forest Lawn Memorial Parks and Mortuaries about pre-planning your funeral at the County Fair. At the very least, it makes you think twice about going on the Zipper afterwards. However, we couldn't resist the allure of a Dodger coffin. This is more hardcore than painting your pickup truck Dodger blue, more permanent than a tattoo. Planning to spend the rest of eternity in a box dedicated to the home team is the ultimate expression of baseball fanaticism. Who will be that guy?
Man, there was a lot of stuff at the D23 Expo this past weekend. And the weird thing is, it seemed like there wasn't enough stuff. Check out photos in the Disney slideshow and read more in "Disney Expo Channels Peter Pan."
Disney is famously hush-hush about how many people actually attend their events ("tens of thousands" is the best guess for D23). I went on Friday and Saturday. I saw enough mouse ears to last a lifetime. A few neat things:
I just love the guy in this photo. He was wandering around looking happy and overwhelmed. 
This is Michael Jackson's original Captain EO costume. Below are his boots. This was from the Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives exhibit. Can you imagine how much this thing is worth now? Also, I hear they're bringing back the Captain EO ride/show.
Captain EO costume, worn by MJ
This is what it's like at a Beer Pong tournament. (You can read about it in our A Considerable Town section.) These shots are from the Southern California Beer Pong Open in Fullerton. Lots of beer. Lots. I'm getting drunk just looking at them.
Lester "Facetime" Marks earned his nickname by popping into photos like this one.
Grabbing some mannequin butt
South Bay style was on display last night when Wilmington's own media and arts collective, Slanguage, took curatorial control of MOCA's Thursday night Engagement Party series with its Psychicinema Multiplex. Founded in 2002 by Karla Diaz and Mario Ybarra Jr., and based in the harbor area of L.A. specifically to cultivate relationships between diverse audiences there, Slanguage has unleashed its experimental, street art approach on venues like the Tate Modern Museum and Serpentine Gallery in London, to LACMA, to Boston public schools -- and now MOCA, where Slanguage's visual assault included screenings and projections throughout the courtyard and galleries, with psychic dancers, DJs, palm readers and a prom-style portrait studio with Wilmington's hellish refineries as the backdrop.
Wendy Gilmartin
"This looks like screwing a light bulb with one hand and patting the dog with the other," said a jittery Martin Henderson in the Indo-Brit movie Bride and Prejudice , in which guests at an Indian wedding suddenly break into song and dance. Henderson's take was not far off, particularly for someone new to the boisterous music and jerky rhythmic dance moves of Masala Bhangra. Originating from the Punjab region of India and Pakistan, Bhangra began as a folk art to celebrate the coming of spring. But like curry, which has traveled far and wide and lent itself to different colors, smells and palates, Bhangra too has twisted and jumped its way into different styles all over the world -- from pop music and film soundtracks to America's Got Talent.
It was the Bhangra's jumps, coordinated hand and leg movements and foot-tapping music that Sarina Jain, founder and creator of Masala Bhangra, thought would make people not only dance, but shed some flab too. "The Masala Bhangra Workout was born in Los Angeles 10 years back," says Jain, who grew up in Orange County. "People fell in love with the music beats, the vigorous movements, and had so much fun that the awesome cardiovascular and muscle-strengthening regime was just an added bonus," she adds with a laugh.
View more photos in the "Vampire Con" slideshow.
These are things you should know when going to Vampire Con, or the convention dedicated to vampires. It happened this weekend at the Music Box Theatre along with Vampirella's Ball. It was the first event of its kind.
1. Wear black.
Duh. For women, this means long black gowns and gloves. For men, this means black top hats, Edwardian or Victorian suits, or anything you would see in a Mad Max movie.
2. Don't ask the bartender for blood.
I did. She offered me merlot instead. Then she offered me her neck.
Saturday, a sunny afternoon in August on the Sunset Strip -- before the cruisers started to prowl, when you could still get lucky finding parking on a block that isn't permit only -- was a good time for the cineaste crowd to converge on Book Soup as filmmaker Werner Herzog made an appearance this weekend to promote Conquest of the Useless, a richly entertaining collection of his diaries from the famously harried production of his 1982 film Fitzcarraldo.
Nicole Campos Werner Herzog
Just because you're nerdy enough to spend the bulk of your Thursday in line to get the goods on the upcoming Avatar film or blew your dinner money on a Darth Luke USB flash drive doesn't mean you don't know how to party. And so the folks at LA's mecca of comic book art, Meltdown, threw Nerd Prom 2099 -- a party where the geeks aren't necessarily the wallflowers.
Liz Ohanesian Comic-Con, where even the bartenders can be geeky for a few days.
At Comic-Con's preview night, held Wednesday evening at the San Diego Convention Center, the talk was all about the line.
"What is that line for?" person after person asked after seeing people row of tents running across the courtyard between the Convention Center and the neighboring hotel.
The crowd, a mix heavy on the ladies ranging teenagers to senior citizens, had arrived for one reason, Twilight. On Wednesday, at 1:45 p.m., Comic-Con will be hosting a panel featuring the stars of Twilight and footage from New Moon. The fans can't help but grin when they mention this.
Camping out for Twilight
From old downtown theatres to dives to dance clubs, LA continues to be a bonanza of burlesque. Big or small, demure or trashy, themed and prop-filled or bodaciously bare, seems like there's always a gaggle strutting -and stripping off- their stuff somewhere in town, and has been ever since The Velvet Hammer troupe emerged in the early '90's
Though Hammer is no more (Lucha Va Voom splintered from the group with much success, though) another gal who came up around the same time remains one of, if not the, queen of the scene: Ms. Dita Von Teese. When it comes to illustriousness (and we're not even counting the notoriety of once being married to a certain shock rocker), retro appeal and most notably, blindingly gorgeous production value, Teese, who was born and raised in Michigan and started her performing career while living in and then emerging from Orange County, always delivers.
On the eve of her first major production in Los Angeles in over two years, the performer speaks with Style Council about why she hasn't performed in LA for a while, how she put together her new one, her new signature cocktail for Cointreau, and other projects she's got up her bedazzled sleeve.
Since the total solar eclipse does not have a publicist, I wanted to remind you that it is happening today. (That would be Wednesday if you're in China, which, due to the time difference is effectively Tuesday night in the US. I know. It's confusing.) At over six and a half minutes, it will be the longest solar eclipse of the 21st century. View it here at NASA's site. Click through to China's National Astronomical Observatory. China will be live webcasting the eclipse as it happens over Shanghai tonight at 9:35pm Eastern Daylight Time, or 6:35 pm Pacific Daylight Time.
Photo via NASA blog
For us here in Los Angeles, the Griffith Observatory will also be broadcasting the eclipse on live webcast on a big screen at one of their exhibit halls. Go there for the serious interplanetary geek action. The webcast timeline is:
5:24 pm PDT -- First Contact
(When the moon first begins to obscure the sun)
6:37 to 6:43 pm PDT -- Totality
(When the moon completely covers the sun. "Totality"--isn't that an awesome word? Astronomers have the best lingo. Seriously.)
View more photos in the Labyrinth of Jareth slideshow.
Labyrinth of Jareth, the two-day masquerade ball now in its twelfth year, is no spectator sport. If you aren't at least wearing a formal and mask, you won't be allowed entrance, and you are better off dressing in full costume that at least loosely fit into the themes of "Venetian histories and Celtic faerie and goblin lore" (steampunk being particularly popular this year). If your best friends cannot recognize you, you are clearly doing something right.
Shannon Cottrell
View more photos in the Anime Expo slideshow.
Forget everything you thought you knew about conventions, anime cons are a different breed altogether. The first thing you'll notice is that the crowd is young, largely in their late teens and early 20s, with a roughly 50/50 ratio of males to females. While a studious lot (you can hear people practicing their Japanese everywhere at these events), they aren't lacking in the style department. In fact, some of the burgeoning trends of this year, most notably Lolita fashion, first gained ground at anime cons. 
Shannon Cottrell
With over 40,000 people in attendance, Anime Expo is the largest gathering of its kind in the United States. The convention itself goes far beyond Japanese animation and comic books, incorporating a healthy dose of music and fashion into the mix. Over the course of Fourth of July weekend, we scoured the Los Angeles Convention Center to discern what trends are brewing in the otaku underground.
Los Angeles doesn't really do civic pride. We're too aloof and jaded for that sort of thing. We're a secular, sunglasses indoors, windows up, bowling alone type of town (except that when we bowl, it's usually at some swanky alley with a Jerry's attached that lets you order duck at four a.m.). People love the Dodgers, but you can count on one hand the number of playoff games they've won in the last 20 years. We don't have a pro football team, and for all the fervor inspired by USC football, it's a private institution that charges 40K a year for the privilege of rubbing shoulders with the sons and daughters of people named Chip. The Lakers are the nexus that binds us. The Lakers are ours. 
Jeff Cowan Lakers fans: Storm Troopers and Transformer Bumble Bee
I know a lot of people who thought that the parade was a really stupid idea. Last night, at dinner with my father and some of his friends, I was subjected to a lengthy harangue about the economic crisis, the city and its citizenries financial woes, and the rioting knuckleheads of last Sunday night, who obviously forgot that rule number one of winning is act like you've been there before.
But if you could've seen the crowd that clotted from Staples Center all the way down to the Coliseum, there was no conceivable way that any indigenous Angeleno could've denied that this was the best idea since the subway to the sea, and infinitely more tangible. I saw everyone from ancient, doddering George Mikan-era fans rocking purple and gold, to wobbly toddlers holding "Kobe Diem" signs. Cholos in Khakis, Chucks, and Ben Davis high-fiving Bel-Air brats (who probably play ball at Bel-Air Prep). Lawyers standing shoulder-to-shoulder with plumbers. Publicists howling alongside pediatricians. All of them standing next to randoms dressed as a Transformer named Bumble Bee. For an hour or two, the skeins of poverty, class division, and elitism unraveled. We all loved L.A., even if most of us still haven't caught on that Randy Newman was one sly and wry motherfucker.
You'd think that in a recession, clothing stores would be ass out of luck. You'd be right. Unless you were talking about H&M. The new H&M opened at the fuddy-duddy Westside Pavilion this past weekend. Some 250 people waited in line for the store to open. The first 100 were rewarded with tee shirts and gift certificates (ranging from ten bucks to $100) for their patience. Then, all day, everyone who bought something got to pick out a free goodie from a range of items: a free umbrella, a calculator, a deck of cards, a pen, an organizer.
The Swedes know how to do cheap and popular. The line was out the door, past the mall entrance itself.
The new store is a shiny mega-boutique cutting through two levels of mall. People shopped steadily throughout the day, buying, I'm told, "everything." Whether that trend continues into the future remains to be seen.
She was thinking about this denim dress. Cute! To buy, or not to buy?
Despite seminars like "Expanding Your Orgasm: Backdoor Basics and Beyond With Amy Sung," and shopping for naughty gifts like RealTouch's laptop compatible interactive media massager, according to Erotica LA there is only one reason to attend the convention this year: Belladonna. Credited with breathing new life into the exhausted genre of girl on girl porn, the 28-year-old adult film star -- and owner of her own adult entertainment company, Belladonna Entertainment -- will be signing and hanging out with fans at the Evil Angel booth for the duration of Erotica LA's three-day run, June 12-14, at the Los Angeles Convention Center downtown. 
Belladonna: The People's Porn Star
"When I'm working conventions, my main focus is making sure the people that have come there to see me get treated equally and really just have an enjoyable time," Belladonna says. "I'm not there to see other porn performers, I'm not there to make business deals, and I'm not there to party. I think that's another thing that sets me apart from a lot of the performers in this industry. I truly am the people's porn star."
Belladonna took some time to answer a few of our questions about sex-ed, misconceptions about the adult entertainment industry, and how it must have sucked back when women weren't allowed to wear pants. Check back Monday, June 15 for photos from Erotica LA.
