Hello Kitty and Jodi @ Japan LA in 2006

For the next three weeks, Los Angeles area Hello Kitty fans can take part in celebrating her 35th anniversary! Three Apples is an exhibition event that Sanrio is hosting at Royal/T, a unique café/shop/art space in Culver City. It’s starting tonight with a VIP grand opening, and running through November 15th.

When I first received an announcement for Three Apples, I thought it was just another art show. Not only will art be on display, but you will get a chance to see unique products and designs, shop in a pop-up store, and attend various events celebrating that adorable cat-with-no-mouth, who many of us have loved since she adorned our pencil cases when we were kids. Some of us have never grown up out of our love for all things Hello Kitty. Three Apples is for us!

Local purveyor of all things kawaii, Japan LA, is curating an art exhibition featuring over 80 contemporary artists’ interpretations of Hello Kitty. Gary Baseman, Luke Chueh, and Buff Monster are a few of the artists whose work will be on display and for sale. A portion of the proceeds will benefit L.A. Works.

In addition to seeing one-of-a-kind artist creations, you can gaze into a mock apartment, filled wall to wall with Hello Kitty items. This may sound like a dream come true or a nightmare to you, but worth checking out either way. Another gallery will provide a retrospective of products from 1974 to present day that feature Hello Kitty, including some things only found in Japan. You be able to visit the on-site store featuring never- before-seen merchandise and also participate in an array of parties and workshops. Take a look at the calendar of events, which will continue to be updated with details for the various happenings.

The Three Apples Hello Kitty exhibition runs Friday, October 23rd through Sunday, November 15th. The FREE event is being held at Royal/T, located at 8910 Washington Blvd, Culver City 90232.

According to the L.A. Times blog, “the concert was supposed to include excerpts from his scores to the movies The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, The Untouchables, Cinema Paradiso, Once Upon a Time in America, The Mission, Once Upon a Time in the West,  A Fistful of Dollars, and others.” The Cinema Paradiso score to be incredible and worth the price of admission alone. I’m bummed to be missing out on seeing a conductor lead an orchestra playing his or her original piece, which is always amazing.

It’s unknown why the show is not going on. Refunds are available, according to the Hollywood Bowl, “at point of purchase.” Of course, if you go to Ticketmaster, you learn that they are not obligated to return your money, so we are currently in limbo. Luckily, we bought cheap seats for this one.

Updated 10/23/09: We received an email from Ticketmaster. They will refund the base ticket price and service charges. However, they will keep the $4+ processing fee. Bastards.

Heritage Square Mourners by Jodi

In case you are on the hunt for something different to do, I can highly recommend checking out the  Halloween and Mourning Tours at Heritage Square Museum. You’ll learn how people in the Victorian Era dealt with death, mourned for loved ones, and practiced Spiritualism, all through guides in period costumes. Maybe this sounds somewhat morbid to you, but I know I’m not alone in finding it fascinating.

Want to know more about Heritage Square Museum? Curious about the details for this cool event?

Heritage Square Museum is a collection of eight historical buildings that were saved from demolition. Through guided tours and special events, you can appreciate the architecture and history of  late 19th Century Southern California. You very well may have noticed a cluster of Victorian style homes along the right side of the 110 Freeway as you head north toward Pasadena. That’s the museum.

It’s worth visiting Heritage Square any time you can. It’s located at 3800 Homer Street, Los Angeles 90031, just north of Dodger Stadium and Downtown. Parking is free and admission varies depending on the occasion. See their calendar for more details, including a couple of additional Halloween activities.

The Halloween and Mourning Tours take place next Saturday and Sunday, October 24th and 25th from 12pm-4pm. See the HSM event page for admission prices. Of special note is that Sunday the 25th will be more family friendly with games, crafts, storytelling and more for children ages 2 to 12.

The show is described as “the dark side of sunny California” and does not disappoint. The displays, all for sale, include paintings, photographs, jewelry, sculpture and more. Much of it is dark, some a bit twisted, and many pieces serve as love letters to Los Angeles, in particular Echo Park. The fact that the “gallery” is actually a gorgeous Craftsman home in the hills adds to the beauty and uniqueness of the event.

L.A. Noir continues today from 3pm-9pm at 1918 Lemoyne Street, Los Angeles 90026. You can also call 323.664.5043. Click here for a partial list of the 30+ participating artists.

Chocolate Covered Bacon

Our own faboomama and Travis recently shared their L.A. County Fair adventures with us. In case you missed your chance to have your own, it’s not too late. This coming Wednesday through Sunday (September 30th-October 4th) is the last week of the fair and I have 2 tickets to give away to one lucky reader, good for any of the remaining days.

I went myself last night with the intention of trying some fried delicacy that I’ve never tasted before. Instead, I was drawn into my new favorite food, chocolate covered bacon! It’s available at all of the churro stands and is scrumptious! It tastes a lot better than my poor quality cell phone photo to the right makes it look. I highly recommend it.

If you too want to head out to Pomona to indulge in some unhealthy eats, ride some rides, play some games, and see baby farm animals for free, leave a comment below. Tell me why you want the tickets and how you plan to spend your visit to the L.A. County Fair. Winner will be picked Monday night by midnight.

The event is this Saturday night in Cheviot Hills Park. People and their dogs are welcome to picnic in the park before the movies and visit the various vendors who will be catering to furry companions. Tickets are $10 per person and are available at the box office starting at 6pm. Children under 12 and dog are admitted for free. The screening of approximately 1 hours of shorts will begin at sundown. I went to a similar event a few years ago and had a blast, as did my dog Rusty.

My dog, Rusty, enjoying Dogfest, a similar event @ The Autry in 2006, which also raised money for PAWS/LA

Cheviot Hills Park is located at 2551 Motor Ave. in Los Angeles (near Century City). For more information, contact info@pawsla.org or call (323)464-7297 x113.

Amoeba Hollywood @ night by Jodi

Amoeba is one of my very favorite places in L.A. It’s my go-to spot for unloading old CDs, thumbing through the bins of deeply discounted DVDs, and buying previously owned music. Besides being a place with a  fantastic selection of music of all genres, movies, live performances, and more, Amoeba is dog friendly and encourages folks to bring their canine pals along to shop.

Considering the store’s open arms policy to dogs, it’s not too much of a suprise that they are hosting a pet adoption this afternoon from 12pm to 4pm. Lange Foundation is a local organization dedicated to finding new homes for pets in need, as well as a sterilization program throughout L.A. County. They will have some furry friends for you to meet and possibly take home. At 4pm there will be a charity auction to benefit the group. Even if you aren’t looking to add a pet to your family, stop by and support a great cause.

Amoeba Music is located at 6400 Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood.

What will you get with your $5 admission to this happening? Well, there will be screenings of Bronx Executioner, a 1989 cyborg flick, and Metropolis, the classic 1927 silent film starring its iconic robot, Maria, in the gorgeous remodeled theater, 8-bit music, a DJ party on roof, planetariums, 3-D photography, a photo booth and more!

The ROBOsoup festivities will start during the day with FREE screenings of Metropolis at 2pm and 4pm. After 5pm, you pay five bucks for a full night of art and entertainment culminating in a midnight showing of Metropolis with a live soundtrack by local musician Thavius Beck.

If you haven’t had a chance to check out the Downtown Independent, there’s no time like tomorrow night. It’s an impressive venue scheduling exciting upcoming programming. You might just happen to be in the area anyway for the monthly Downtown Art Walk, so stop on by!

ROBOsoup 3.1 is Thursday, September 10, 2009 at 5pm at Downtown Independent, which is located at 251 S. Main St., Los Angeles 90012. The theater can be reached at 213.617.1033.

Thanks to Sean’s twitter feed, I learned yesterday that the Pasadena Humane Society, who has taken in 200+ evacuated pets affected by the Station Fire, desperately needs donations of blankets, food, money, etc. I had a case of premium food that my picky dogs won’t touch that I took over to them. I always feel so helpless when a natural disaster is going on and was happy to make a helpful gesture, no matter how small it is in the grand scheme of things.

The Pasadena Humane Society is located at 361 S. Raymond Ave. The facility is closed to all adoptions at this time and are keeping the doors locked. However, you can knock on the door and they will graciously receive your items. While they are typically closed on Mondays, I confirmed that they are accepting donations today. If you have any questions, you can call 626-792-7151.

I had to run out to my vet this afternoon to pick up some medication. I was driving east on Burbank Blvd. (the way this monster of a truck is facing) and attempted to turn right into the partially blocked parking lot. Luckily, I have a small car, but I still had to back out into the street and maneuver to pull in. When I went across the street to take a photo, I saw several other cars have the same difficulty. Except for the Jeep that just drove right over the curb! Maybe this person hates pets. Whatever the case, he’s a jerk.