February 14, 2014
Jamzilla...Avoid the 405 this Weekend Holiday

 

JAMZILLA 405: Going over the hill on the 405 will be all the more frustrating this holiday 3-day weekend from Feb. 14-18. The HOV lane is being paved along the Sepulveda Pass which will greatly impact travel along this route. Try to avoid the area or plan ahead by taking alternative routes on Beverly Glen, Coldwater or Laurel Canyon.

 

Here are some events going on in specific neighborhoods away from the Jamzilla. We recommend riding the METRO if possible.

 

This is a good weekend to head south and spend the day in Long Beach at the Queen Mary or go east towards San Gabriel Valley for a couple of classical music events. 

 

LOVE 911: Today is Valentine's Day! If you haven't been struck by Cupid's arrow, then you may want to avoid dining out tonight. Couples can make last minute plans or spread the lovin' feelin' all weekend long with these alternative romantic activities.

 

PRESIDENTS 411: Many of us have Monday off in recognition of President's Day. Find something fun and local in your hood or head out of town for a quick getaway. There is free museum admission on Monday at the Autry in Griffith Park. 

 

 

ANYTHING GOES: Some things are always fun to do... Check out our Places to Go Anytime and Things To Do pages for plenty of ideas that are available on a regular basis.

  HorzLine

 Find more? Check out our Editor's Picks selected at the start of every week.  

  

DiscountsDISCOUNTS - there are some really good ones right now. From whale watching to kids shows to festivals... entertain yourself at a discount. All at very reasonable prices. Even better, most of the discounts offered are direct from the event/activity producers and do not involve additional fees to receive the discount.

  

TIP OF THE ICEBERG: you'll find lots more events and other things to do near you - on our neighborhood and regional calendar links at the bottom of all Eye Spy LA web pages.


Have a Happy Weekend!

 
Eyestrology: Happy Birthday Pisces! by Cici Psy-Chic

 

Pisces Koy Fish Happy birthday to these celebrity February Pisceans: Dr. Dre (2/18), Seal (2/19), Rihanna (2/20), Jennifer Love Hewitt (2/21), Drew Barrymore (2/22), Dakota Fanning (2/23), Floyd Mayweather Jr. (2/24), Sean Astin (2/25), Fats Domino (2/26), Josh Groban (2/27), Bernadette Peters (2/28), Tony Robbins (2/29)

 
Celebrity March Pisceans: Ron Howard (3/1), Daniel Craig (3/2), Jessica Biel (3/3), Patricia Heaton (3/4), Eva Mendes (3/5), Shaquille O'Neal (3/6), Bryan Cranston (3/7), Aidan Quinn (3/8), Matthew Gray Gubler (3/9), Chuck Norris (3/10), Johnny Knoxville (3/11), Ron Jeremy (3/12), Dana Delany (3/13), Billy Crystal (3/14), Eva Longoria (3/15), Curtis Lovell III (3/16), Mia Hamm (3/17), Queen Latifah (3/18), Bruce Willis (3/19), Spike Lee (3/20)
 
Ole dreaded Mercury is in retrograde until Feb. 28. That means an uptick in delays, miscommunication and technological snafus. This would be an ideal time to lay low and take a personal assessment about springing forward come March. It wouldn't be a bad idea to hit the gym or join in a yoga class to get our bodies beach-ready. Relaxation and rejuvenation is the best way to beat the retrograde blues so book a day at the spa or grab a pal for a mani/pedi. The best way to deal with our anxiety is by nursing ourselves into better form, face and fashion. Get the detailed forecasts for all of the signs...
 

 

 HorzLine
Book Lovers Go Antiquarian in Pasadena by Robert Kerr

 

Antiquarian Book Fair
  
This past weekend was the 47th California Antiquarian Book Fair at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. The show alternates locations every other year from being held in Los Angeles and San Francisco. There were over 200 exhibitors from all over the world with books on various subjects from anatomy to children's classics. The price of the books could range from $25 to well over $100,000. 

 

Another great book show is the 35th Annual Paperback Collectors Show & Sale on Sunday, March 16th...

 

READ MORE

 

HorzLine 
 
Time to Get Inappropriate at FilmForum

 

Curators Jaimie Baron, Lauren Berliner and Greg Cohen will be on hand to introduce the world premiere of the 6th edition of the Festival of (In)appropriation. Founded in 2009, the Festival of (In)appropriation is a yearly showcase of contemporary short audiovisual works that appropriate film or video footage and repurpose it in "inappropriate" and inventive ways...

  

READ MORE

 

HorzLine  

Compton Drive-in, Compton, SoCal, 1979 by Charles Phoenix
 

Compton Drive In

About 20 years ago, curiosity got the best of me and I decided that I just had to see the house that my mother grew up in in Compton, CA. My grandparents moved out of the house when I was 5-years-old and I hadn't seen it since. So I looked up the address and headed over there.
 
I turned the corner and there it was, just as I had pictured only waaay smaller. As I sat in my idling car staring at the house, a rush of long forgotten childhood memories reran in my mind.
 
I was spellbound. But not nearly as spellbound as when I looked up at the end of the street and saw a gigantic framed mural of Viking ships sailing on a choppy sea and generously labeled with the handwritten name of the city. It was the Compton Drive-in towering over the entire neighborhood. I didn't have even the faintest childhood recollection of this mid-century marvel, shocking as it may seem. I thought I was dreaming. Researching as soon as I got home, I learned that it was beautifully built in 1949 by the largest local drive-in chain, Pacific Drive-in Theaters. For the next couple of weeks I bragged all over town about my drive-in discovery. Finally I went back to take a closer look. Once again I turned up the old street and there was my grandparent's former home but ...

 

READ MORE 

 

HorzLine

Winter on the Central Coast: Elephant Seal Mating and Birthing

 

Elephant Seal

Head up the coast to a natural habitat for local elephant seals. These gigantic creatures (males with faces only a mother could love) can weigh up to 2000 lbs and females log in around the 1500 lb range. 

 

Volunteer docents are available and eager to explain what is going on when you are visiting. 
 
Elephant seals can be seen here all year long but they are actively mating and giving birth during the winter months. It is totally FREE to visit and enjoy.This is a mother and her two day old pup I saw in December.This area of Hwy 1 (PCH) is approximately half way between Los Angeles and San Francisco which makes it an ideal weekend getaway from either city.

 

 READ MORE

  
HorzLine  


  
ABOUT EYE SPY LA
 

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 L.A. EYE SPY LA CONTRIBUTORS:

 

M.R. Hunter - editorial and reviews

Mark Share - reviews

Kelly Hargraves - dance and reviews

Leena Deneroff - food adventures

Charles Phoenix - retro slide of the week