April 11, 2014

Take a Break: Stop & Smell the Roses This Week!

BUCOLIC LA: We get a few drops of rain and it's bloomin' all over. The CA Poppy Reserve in the Antelope Valley is reporting the best blooms in a few years right now. Cherry trees are in full bloom at Lake Balboa (part of the Sepulveda Basin Recreation area in the San Fernando Valley. Cactus is blooming in Joshua Tree National Park and no doubt in many of the local desert areas nearby.

The Natural History Museum's annual Butterfly Pavilion opens April 13th at Exposition Park just in time for LAUSD Spring Break next week. While you're there stop and smell the roses in the Rose Garden and the museums are always great to visit.

The annual LA Times Book Festival Saturday and Sunday at USC (adjacent to Exposition Park - needless to say traffic and parking will be impacted - Go Metro to both)

DAILY PICKS: There's always more - click on each day or go to the main CALENDAR for the full scoop.

FRIDAY: Beer-lesque: Tastings & Tassels in Long Beach

SATURDAY: the 8th Annual "Day of Black Docs" at the American Film Institute

SUNDAY: Los Angeles Avocado Festival at Olvera Street downtown

SPRING BREAK: Check out our KIDS page for plenty of ideas for what to do next week.

EVEN MORE: 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.

KIDS STUFF - Shows, activities, teas and more for families with toddlers, tykes and teens.
ART - Painting classes, gallery openings and new exhibits.
MUSEUMS - We have wonderful museums and they are always worth a visit - many have special events.

See what's going on all month on the APRIL CALENDAR

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

DISCOUNTS - 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 GREAT Weekend!

"Recall" Needs a Recall by M.R. Hunter

The theater can rise up to meet almost any genre, but the realm of science fiction, no matter how psychological, is a difficult milieu to navigate. The Visceral Company rises to the challenges of Eliza Clark's derivative, barely entertaining script with creative flourishes in its set, solid performances from some of the ensemble and a sensibility for the visual and suspenseful.

Unfortunately, director Dan Spurgeon and set designer Chris Bell can't save a faulty play by a writer with a smattering of TV credits and too many positive reviews that are frankly undeserved.

Why? The play doesn't offer anything new. It's a cross-haired attempt at pre-cog recognition ala "1984," "Minority Report" and similar storylines in both the sci-fi and horror genre. Fans of these tropes might enjoy seeing a play with valid quality elements as opposed to a blockbuster movie or Netflix night in but that's about the most one can say in the positive realm of this play.

READ THE FULL REVIEW

Eyestrology: Happy Birthday Aries! by Cici Psy-Chic

Happy birthday to these celebrity April Arians: Asa Buttefield (4/1), Christopher Meloni (4/2), Eddie Murphy (4/3), Robert Downey Jr. (4/4), Zak Bagans (4/5), Paul Rudd (4/6), Russell Crowe (4/7), Julian Lennon (4/8), Kristen Stewart (4/9), Steven Seagal (4/10), Joel Grey (4/11), Vince Gill (4/12), Al Green (4/13), Sarah Michelle Gellar (4/14), Emma Watson (4/15), Martin Lawrence (4/16), Victoria Beckham (4/17), David Tennant (4/18), Kate Hudson (4/19), George Takei (4/20)

Most signs will be feeling revitalized and adventurous over the next few weeks. Indulge this insatiable thirst for wanderlust by exploring new places, special events and unique festivals. One of our mottos for this Aries month should be: know thy self. Watch The Matrix scene with the Oracle if you need some words of wisdom. Do what feels right for you even if it means unplugging from Tweets and social media for the day just to take a long, luxurious hike. This is an excellent period for soul searching but you can't do that if you're not willing to take a timeout.

READ THE FULL FORECAST

They're Baaack! "Urban Death" @ Zombie Joe's Underground in NoHo

This ghoulish production puts the MORE in morbid with its rapidly paced one-act featuring the oddest assortment of visceral scenes ranging from the creepy crawly to the shockingly sinister.

Those who've already seen one of the earlier signature productions of "Urban Death" should return like the Living Dead and get ready to party because Zombie Joe and his crew always adds more to keep fans sated.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

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 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