POP, POP, POP! This weekend is poppin' with good stuff. Whether it's coming from Chinatown or on the red carpet at the Kodak Center in Hollywood for the Oscars. 

RUN, WALK, OR RIDE THE METRO: Make like a snake and scoot down to Chinatown. There's still time to party if you missed last weekend's New Year celebration with this weekend's 35th Annual Firecracker 5/10K Run/Walk and the free Nite n' Day Festival.  Easy access to Chinatown via the Metro Gold line. We're big fans of this colorful event!   

RED CARPET: Love it or hate it, it's Oscar Night this Sunday. While the good, bad and the not so ugly will be turning heads, traffic into Hollywood will be diverted for the big show. We recommend taking the Metro Red Line and hoofing it if you need to be in the area.

STREET CLOSURES:

• Hollywood Blvd. between Highland Ave. & Orange Drive
• Hollywood Blvd. between La Brea Ave. and Cahuenga Blvd.
• Highland Ave. between Franklin Ave. & Sunset Blvd.
• San Vincente Blvd. from Santa Monica Blvd. to Melrose Avenue 
• Sunset Blvd. will be partially taped off with one eastbound lane cordoned off
• Tow-Away zones and No Parking will be in effect through the weekend. 

ROCK OUT, BALLS OUT: Whether it's Edwardian, Classic Rock or Aztec...

• The Edwardian Ball Presents Edward Gorey's "The Doubtful Guest"
• Rock Goddesses Unite! A Tribute Concert
• Aztec Dance Ceremony
• Victory Variety Hour

BLACK HISTORY MONTH: 

• Chef Lovely Celebrates Black History Month with "A Journey Through Food"
• A Tribute to African American Authors & Art Opening

ART SMART:

• Invisible Art, Visible Artists Seminar
• Something Wicked This Way Comes
• Sharing Dance at La Crescenta Library
• The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs 

TOO COOL AT NIGHT: Duck inside for some alternatives to warming up at the local cineplex. You won't find the usual suspects on our Film page. Prefer a play? Play around on our Theater page. As usual check our full  Entertainment Calendar for other interesting and unusual options.

See all of this week's Editors Picks or view the full Eye Spy LA Calendar 

TIP: you can find events and other things to do near you - you'll find neighborhood and regional calendar links at the bottom of all Eye Spy LA web pages.

Have a Happy Edwardian or Oscar filled Weekend! 

 
Happy birthday to these celebrity February Pisceans: John Travolta (2/18), Smokey Robinson (2/19), Rihanna (2/20), Jennifer Love Hewitt (2/21), Drew Barrymore (2/22), Perez Hilton (2/23), Billy Zane (2/24), Lee Evans (2/25), Michael Bolton (2/26), Wendy Liebman (2/27), Gilbert Gottfried (2/28), Antonio Sabato, Jr. (2/29)

Celebrity March Pisceans: Justin Bieber (3/01), Jon Bon Jovi (3/02), Jessica Biel (3/03), Patricia Heaton (3/04), Eva Mendes (3/05), Shaquille O'Neal (3/06), Rachel Weisz (3/07), Kat Von D (3/08), Matthew Gray Gubler (3/09), Chuck Norris (3/10), Johnny Knoxville (3/11), Liza Minnelli (3/12), Neil Sedaka (3/13), Quincy Jones (3/14), Will I Am (3/15), Flavor Flav (3/16), Rob Lowe (3/17), Adam Levine (3/18), Glenn Close (3/19), Spike Lee (3/20)

PISCES - Do-Do-Do

ARIES - Eerily Calm
TAURUS - Romping
GEMINI - Easy Come
CANCER - Mirrors in Disguise
LEO - Messages
VIRGO - Primed & Pumped

LIBRA - Bedfellows

SCORPIO - Feel Good

SAGITTARIUS - Bright Lights
CAPRICORN - Wait and See

AQUARIUS - Expectations 

This is a busy month for most signs. There will be a lot of action but we should make sure that it is productive and not wasted on spinning our wheels. Mercury will be in retrograde, making silence golden for those who find themselves easily tongue-tied. Between the spurts of energy, we should find peaceful respites both at home and in nature. Getting out and about should help us quiet our minds and listen to our hearts. Anything that is unresolved may linger, but it would be best to delve into why instead of rushing in to fix it. Many of us will be soul-searching.

Read your full EYESTROLOGICAL Forecast

The Utterly Edwardian Ball by M.R. Hunter

We went, we saw, we drank absinthe. This Gorey-fantastic event is truly something remarkable. Steampunk lovers, Edwardian enthusiasts and those who just enjoy the eclectic and bizarre should not miss out on this spectacular evening.

In honor of this year's 2013 Edwardian Ball (held at the Fonda Theatre) we have included last year's ode to the odd...

The Absinthe flowing was a rare treat;
Its tonic strong, its flavor bitterly sweet.

The Belasco is an exquisite venue
For an Edwardian Ball and bizarre retinue.

The Corsets were nothing short of fantastic
And made gentlemen more than enthusiastic.

The Dancing included waltzes on every floor
As well as Jitterbugging and Flappers and more.

The Edwardian theme was glamour and glitz
Dark in its tone, a sort of macabre blitz. 

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

No Goy: "When You're in Love, the Whole World is Jewish"  

by M.R. Hunter

Apparently, all a show needs to sell out and earn early extensions is name recognition, as in the case of director, Jason Alexander, and dated material targeted for a specific audience. Voila! Producers Danny Gold and Billy Riback should be commended on their sure-fire brand of successful packaging with "When You're in Love, the Whole World is Jewish" that is pure bupkes. 

Based on the 1965 Grammy nominated comedy album written and produced by Bob Booker and George Foster, this certain brand of humor had its day, probably in the Catskills, but the sun has set since then and this cast (beset by a pair of tin-foil menorahs) do nothing to make it current. The effect is like sitting for 90mins while watching someone flog a pony as it brays for relief. 90mins? It felt more like 3 hours as the vignettes are dished out in an all-you-can-eat buffet line of one-liners, wise cracks and creaky setups for a punchline that is as crusty as week old challah bread. One could possibly imagine this series of bad acts on a cruise line but I wouldn't subject the poor people of the crippled Carnival Triumph to more hardship and undue grief...

READ THE FULL REVIEW

Third Extension: Just Can't Get Enough of "Dirty Filthy Love Story" 

by M.R. Hunter

Three times a charm for this little hit that keeps audiences coming back for more (extended through March 24). Don't miss out on this dark comedy presented by Rogue Machine playing at The Skylight Theatre in Hollywood. A fun show with an eye-popping set, it has also recently earned nominations from the LA Weekly Theater Awards.

• Production of the Year
• Leading Male Performance (Joshua Bitton)
• Set Design

If you're in Hollywood and want to see something that you can laugh about over drinks and dinner afterwards with your friends-this is a damn fine choice. It's definitely an icebreaker date night play and if you're worried about what your prospective companion will think about that mystery stain on the carpet or the stacks of dishes in the sink when you bring them back to your place, then see this and you'll look like a neat freak by comparison....

READ THE FULL REVIEW

Eye Spy LA has been the online Local's Guide to L.A. since 2003. Content is written, edited and maintained by locals and focuses on local and nearby events and the local creative community.

Editorial policy: Eye Spy LA editorials are stories written about places, entertainment and events that we go to. The opinions are those of our editorial staff and the writer of the piece. Calendar listings are ads posted by the people producing events and activities in the local area. Each week we pick and recommend events and other things to do based on our experience or sometimes because they look particularly unusual, unique or in some other way interesting. We do not recommend them based on any fees they may or may not have paid us for advertising.

You'll always find the latest events & activities plus commentary about where we've been at eyespyLA.com - updated daily. 

Andrea Kirk, publisher (editor@eyespyLA.com)

 EYE SPY LA CONTRIBUTORS:

M.R. Hunter - editorial and reviews

Mark Share - reviews

Kelly Hargraves - dance and reviews

Abby Abanes - food adventures

Charles Phoenix - retro slide of the week