Just wanted to let you know about an awesome scavenger hunt game on the west side tomorrow afternoon, hosted by Wise Guys Events. It’s designed for teams of two and combines elements of a photo scavenger hunt and the spy game, Assassin. It’s super cheap for a few hours of fun and will be over in plenty of time for you to head to your evening plans.

Here’s some information I ripped from the event’s Facebook page:

Camera Assassins is the newest Wise Guys Events game! Play in teams of 2: that’s right, teams of 2! Get your future Amazing Race partner in on the action. It’s part photo scavenger hunt, part Assassin. You and your partner are racing to complete as many of the photo challenges as you can. The catch is, you can’t do them without the help of the other teams, and one of the other players is aiming to kill you. Unless your partner is.

Camera Assassins, the amazing game of double exposure! RSVP on their Facebook event page to play.

The cost is $20 per team, to be collected on game day.

Saturday, November 21, 2009
1:00p – 4:00p
Westwood Park – Meet at the Picnic Benches
1300 Veteran Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90024

Venice Beach

Ok, Metbloggers and Metblogs readers, get off your bikes and get ready for the Great Los Angeles Walk 2009 this Saturday, November 21.  This annual walk to celebrate Los Angeles has been taking place since 2006.  Here’s Will Campbell’s preview of last year’s walk. This year, over 300 feet are expected to join in.

Who
Great Los Angeles Walk is the brainchild of Mike and Maria, purveyors of the Franklin Avenue blog, and no doubt passionate readers of Los Angeles Metblogs.

What

A 13.5 mile walk from the Shrine Auditorium to Venice Beach, taking in the sights along Figueroa, Adams, Washington, the Mid-City, and Culver City on the way.
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VerdElf at SantaCon 2008 (Photo courtesy of Colin Young-Wolff and the LA Times)

Details about the annual Santa Conference (SantaCon) is usually unavailable this early in the year and the veracity of any information that does become available is often in question due to Santa’s propensity for pranking. What we do know is this, the annual conference is coordinated by a shadowy figure known only as “Santa” and while he sometimes tolerates elves at his annual gathering,  he will do anything it takes to keep those damn clowns from ruining his jolly good time.

While specific details about SantaCon are never revealed until it is actually happening, I just received some intel regarding this year’s event that may be helpful for those of you who are looking to either participate or avoid it altogether. My sources have informed me that this year’s event will take place on Saturday, December 12.

I am also told that Santa is likely to be traveling on foot instead of bus this year, which means a $5 Metro Day Pass is all you’re going to need to hurl your cheer onto every street corner.

Last year, Santa merged at Echo Park Lake to begin the conference. So far, no one has revealed the exact starting location of this year’s event, but to me downtown seems like an obvious choice. Then, you never really know with Santa.

Ho, ho, ho.

In a quick follow up to Lucinda Michele’s post about local tattoo artist Jeremy Swan who was going to attempt to break the world record by completing more than 801 tattoos in 24 hours…

He did it. Quick matchbook math on that says he did one tattoo every 1.6 minutes to pull that off. Which seems about right, I was there at midnight and had an appointment to be in the first hour (because who wants to be in the last hour?!) and was the 12th person to get tattooed. It was kind of a madhouse:

I got these two and he spent about a minute and 10 seconds or so on each. Maybe. Same for the friends I went with so he was off to a good pace. It was super fun to be a part of the event, congrats Jeremy!

My boy is back after a week away shooting music and art in Vegas, and boy are his arms tired! Um…sorry. Yes. Anyway, CuriousJosh is here with your to-do list of this week’s weird and wonderful underground events. -Lucinda.

Hello Los Angeles! I’m CuriousJosh, happily here on loan courtesy of LA Weekly. Read on for vampires, live art, Miss Jackson–if you’re nasty–Hello Kitty, underground DJs, and wig socialization opportunities.

Downtown Artwalk (Thursday)
Thousands converge for this culture crawl through Los Angeles’ downtown art district. Visit an array of galleries, speckled with live music, wine, craft sales, and more. FREE

I AM A LASER (Thursday)
When artwalk dies down, the culture continues. DJs and Live art highlight the new monthly I AM A LASER artwalk afterparty at Club Nokia. This month features DJ Take (Dublab/Alpha Pup/Los Angeles), R/D (The Designed Disorder), LC (Cannibal Flower/Think Space), live artwork by Hans Haveron, live painting by John Park, and roving photography by Curious Josh.  $10.

Wig Out! (Thursday)
Get your wig out, and join this offbeat crowds monthly themed wig party. This month DJ My Little Pony, DJ Spinny, and performance art troupe Art of Bleeding spearheads the medical themed health care night. Tonight’s a perfect opportunity to use that Halloween naughty nurse outfit you thought would stay in the closet until next year. $8 with wig/ $10 without. At Bordello. (Great parking and safe!) 901 E 1st St, 90012.

Click thru for vamps, tribal DJ parties, one spooky Kitty, and wardrobe malfunctions en masse.

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For Angelenos needing to shop at IKEA, the Carson and Burbank locations are the usual choices.  I go to the Carson location, not just because it is closer to my home, but because, at the other end of the shopping center sits Five Guys Burgers.  Five Guys is not new to these pages,  having been (mixed) reviewed by Faboomama and commented on by others.  But it’s all subjective, and, subjectively, I love the place (disclosure/confession: I used to go to their original DC-area locations).

So now, I rarely (ok, never) go to IKEA without hitting Five Guys.  One triggers the other, just like a ciggy in a bar.  Plus, I figure I deserve it after getting that thousand yard IKEA Stare after an hour or so inside the Swedish happy torture factory.  As to whether the trip to IKEA was really necessary in the first place, or just an excuse for a Five Guys burger & fries, I’ll never te-ell….

For those with imaginations that run dark in their romantic tendencies, the brain child of L.A. underground artist Nui Cobalt will be your dirty cup of tea.  Nemesis promises to be an end of the world descent into debauchery and exquisite poignance.

Dance to the sweet strains (Darkwave, New Romantic, Tribal Goth) of your final hours with music spun by DJ Xian and MP3J SARK while partaking of exotic libations. (I hear the coconut martinis are mindblowing.)  Also, fans of Gentleman Junkie can expect a chance to own a limited edition CD that can only be procured on this one occasion.

Nemesis debuts on 11/11 and will slither back to life quarterly. Doors open to the Electric Lotus (4656 Franklin Ave) at 10:30 pm.  Cover is $5 until 11 pm, after which it becomes $10. Valet parking is available.

I finally got over to the Hello Kitty celebration, Three Apples, that I told you about a few weeks ago. I really had a great time and recommend it for any fans. Even those of you who don’t care so much about the little cartoon cat, may want to check out the art exhibit featuring very creative, and in some cases downright disturbing, homages to Miss Kitty by over 80 artists. Fantastic stuff. I also got a kick out of seeing the variety of products available in Japan, from toys to elaborate tea sets emblazaned with her image.  Other showcases include everything from kitchen appliances to school supplies to an entire Hello Kitty bathroom. The vintage items featured are sure to stir some childhood memories.

I met up with a group of friends and we waited in line for about an hour for brunch in the café. It gave us time to look at some of the surrounding displays. While you could order from the regular menu, there was also a special Hello Kitty menu, of course, featuring a high tea and character shaped pancakes and waffles. Guess what we chose to order. There was no way we could pass up a combo of yummy and cute!

This is the last week of the event and I predict that it will be quite crowded this coming weekend as folks realize it’s their last chance. I’ve heard that it’s not so bad during the week, so that may be the way to go if your schedule allows. I plan to go back just for the store as the line to get in yesterday was incredibly long.

Three Apples runs through Sunday, November 15th at Royal/T in Culver City, 10am-10pm. There is no admission fee, but you might have to wait to get into the shop or be seated in the café.

CuriousJosh pic, Halloween 2008

Big ups yet again to Mr. Curious for the info. I’m so lazy I hadn’t planned anything for tomorrow yet–not even a costume. Josh, this is my cheat sheet for tomorrow! You’ve made my social life SO much easier.  -Lucinda.

Hello Los Angeles! Looking for something different?

I’m CuriousJosh, once again happily here courtesy of LA Weekly, to let you in on everything from partying in an old church to burlesque queens to costumes amidst the hallowed halls of world-class LA museums. There’s also one post-ghost highlight where House music legend John Tejada plays the intimate Zanzibar next Wednesday. After the weekend, I’ll return with photos from the events, plus some secret happenings I habituate throughout LA’s underground nightlife.

Danse Macabre (Friday)
Visit Danse Macabre for hip haunts in an off-beat venue. An old church provides perfect haunting grounds for the hip and energetic crowd brought together by Shits & Giggles and Jelly Roll. Special performance by host The Lady Tigra. The werewolves will be howling along with DJs Christine Renee, Travis TK Disco (Hot Biscuit), Aaron Castle (A Club Called), Chris Bowen, and Victor Rodriguez. 10p-5a. The Church, 606 E. 6th Street. Limited pre-sale tix for $10. $15 at the door. http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/86732

Miss Kitty’s Parlor (Friday and Saturday)
Miss Kitty’s Parlor presents dual debauchery for Friday and Saturday. Expect an alternative crowd enjoying go-go dancers of all genders, combined with provocative burlesque… (more…)

So last week we introduced you to our intrepid photographic correspondent, CuriousJosh, and he gave you his list of destinations for the weekend…here’s the recap, in photos!

I myself was at the “Thrill the World” event at LA Live (the video I shot is here), where a zombie army over 6000 strong assembled to dance the “Thriller” dance–all in unison, all at once. It was epic. Great seeing you there, Josh! (His pics are here at the Weekly.)

Also, he swung by Dia de los Muertos at Hollywood Forever Cemetery…the full gallery is at the LA Weekly in all its gory glory! All photos shared with LA Metblogs courtesy of CuriousJosh & the LA Weekly.