FASHION

• Hollywood Shop Til’ You Drop | Saturday, August 9, 2008 | 11 a.m. | Free | Republic - Map | L.A’s top photographers, models, designers, stylists and editors will be at Hollywood Shop Til’ You Drop, which features clothing, jewelry, product giveaways, complimentary eye brow treatments, massages and more. Music provided by Celebrity DJ Q (Pharrell Williams and LA Clippers) RSVP To: shopmelroseave@yahoo.com to reserve free tickets or reply to this email.

FESTIVAL

• Sunland-Tujunga Watermelon Festival | Friday, August 8 through Sunday, August 10, 2008 | 5 p.m. (Friday), 12 p.m. (Saturday and Sunday) | $1 donation | Sunland Park Recreation Center - Map | The 47th annual Sunland-Tujunga Watermelon Festival takes place all weekend, sponsored by the Lions Club of Sunland-Tujunga. The event features free watermelon for all, watermelon carving display, eating contest with prizes and a watermelon seed spitting contest and much much more

FILM

• Samurai Rebellion | Saturday, August 9, 2008 | 7 p.m. | $10 | Silent Movie Theatre - Map | From Masaki Kobayashi and directed by Toshiro Mifune, Samurai Rebellion is a story of feudal-era political intrigue, vengeance and loyalty. The story revolves around a warlord’s retainer (Mifune) who has happily promised his beautiful daughter to her true love, but his decadent master has claimed the girl as his own. After his attempts to negotiate backfire, Mifune has no choice but to turn to his sword in a beautiful and brutal climactic showdown. 1967, 35mm, 128 min.

Photo by pinkspleen

This Saturday August 9th, from 10am to 11:30am is the LA drum circle in Downtown LA. Beat a bongo, shake a maraca, or ring a triangle. Drum Downtown is a unique outdoor group drumming experience on the Music Center Plaza. A fun, entry-level experience for all ages creating improvised rhythms and music in the moment. You don’t have to be a professional, you just have to want to have a good time. The event is free to all, no reservations need, and instruments will be provided for those who don’t have any. It starts at 10am and goes until 11:30, if it can be stopped at all!

The event is located at the Music Center Plaza:

135 North Grand Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 972-7211

If you have any questions www.musiccenter.org or call 213-972-3660

This week in the literary world provides a few opportunities for you to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes - the highlights being a biography briefing the life of a porn star and a moving-picture viewing of his work (as vicarious as one can get without getting a battery of tests); a reading involving two writers who have reached and surpassed literary goals that one could only dream of; and an evening of spoken word, welcoming your listening ear, if not your vocal expression. Of course, we found a used book sale, because as long as there are walls in your abode, there is always room for at least one more bookcase.

• Signing and Discussion | Friday, August 8, 2008 | 7:00 pm | Book Soup - Map | Jennifer Sugar and Jill C. Nelson will present and sign “A Life Measured in Inches”, a biography about John Holmes - a young man from small town Ohio who defined the meaning of ‘porn star’ in the seventies amidst drugs, addiction, and a comeback from a scandal involving homicide. A free midnight screening of “Eruption” (a pornographic interpretation of “Double Indemnity”, starring Holmes) will follow, at The Silent Movie Theatre in West Hollywood. For more info, call (310) 659-3110.

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The Aero:

• Fri 8 at 7.30: Marty (1955) - Ernest Borgnine in person!
• Sat 9 at 7.30: The Dirty Dozen (1967) / Emperor of the North (1973)

It’s an Ernest Borgnine fest at the Aero. Until his later years, he was usually ornery and malicious, and great at it, but in Marty, one of his best films, he plays a sweet sadsack of a Brooklyn butcher, fat and ugly and resigned to never finding love. It was a TV play by Paddy Chayevsky and starred Rod Steiger a couple of years before; I always felt a bit sorry or Steiger he didn’t get to do the big screen version, but it’s hard to imagine him carrying off with such conviction the unassuming humility of a regular schmo that blossoms into tentative hope the way Borgnine does. Along with the script, it’s Borgnine’s movie, and it’s great (and the only winner of both Best Picture Oscar and the Palme d’Or at Cannes).

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Well, there’s a nice little group of non-blockbusters this week. What a relief! Although in my mind there’s really not much competition,Pineapple Express is brilliant, go now. Try not too get too baked to forget where the theater is. Or if you’re feeling more like a bit of Tarantino you’ve hot Hell Ride with half the cast of Kill Bill plus Vinnie Jones. Oh yeah! Looking for “cultured” comedy, try Bottle Shock. You can never go wrong with Alan Rickman having to deal with a bunch of Americans. Want something sexy, sleek, and will hopefully get you some at the end of the night? Try Elegy…makes for good “conversation.” Or if you like the sweet and cheesy go for The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2.

Here is this weeks movie releases with times, cast and crew info, reviews, and trailers. Enjoy!

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This place has it all. Booze, great music, and AMAZING sales on nice sunglasses. You’ve seen these glasses on almost every celeb including Uma Thurman, Kate Moss, Robert Downey Jr. and more. Every Thursday night in August from 7:30-10pm, the Sunset Plaza Oliver Peoples Boutique will be hosting Summer Sessions; where sight and sound unite. All shades (and specs) from the Oliver Peoples, Mosley Tribes, and Paul Smith Spectacles Collection will be on sale for under $120!! This year they are selling some really amazing styles and at that price who could resist picking up a new pair for the second half of Summer?

Complimentary Peroni Beer and Sonoma - Cutrer Wines will be served and a fantastic line up of DJs, including
KCRWs Raul Campos and DJ Drez, DJ Harvey, and Allen Voskanian, will be spinning throughout each night.

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Now I know The Olympics start tomorrow and most of you won’t be able to tear yourself away from the television long enough to see what great shows are coming to Los Angeles. Fear not! See a show tonight and get your 2008 olympic experience off on the right foot. If you don’t, Michael Phelps won’t dominate the swimming events and it will be all YOUR fault!

• Dr. Dog | 7:00PM at Ameoba Music in Hollywood - Map | All Ages | FREE
• The Airborne Toxic Event, Morning Benders, Radars to the Sky | 8:00PM at El Rey Theatre - Map | All Ages | Tickets $17 Buy Now
• The Faint, Jaguar Love, Shy Child | 8:00PM at The Music Box @ The Fonda - Map | All Ages | Tickets $23 Buy Now
• Monte Negro, Astra Heights, The May Fire | 8:00PM at Knitting Factory - Map | All Ages | Tickets $12 Buy Now
• The Rolling Blackouts, Lieutenants, Craft Club, Apple War | 9:00PM at Silverlake Lounge - map | 21+ | Tickets $8 Buy Now

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August is finally here which means the baseball playoff race is heating up, football is on its way back and, most importantly, the new TV season is almost here.

That doesn’t mean, however, that we’ve escaped the hell onscreen that is the endless reality programming and reruns of the summer. We must soldier on for a few more work weeks until all our favorite shows come back in September to make the drudgery more bearable.

But don’t despair, below are enough good shows for tonight to get you through at least this evening.

Reality Rundown

• Ace of Cakes returns to the Food Network with it season premiere tonight at 10:00. The fifth season kicks off with the bakery producing a theme cake for the premiere of “Kung Fu Panda”. No word on whether Jack Black ate the entire thing by himself.

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• Julian Marley | Thursday, August 7, 2008 | 8 p.m. | $12.50 | The Malibu Inn - Map | Watch Julian Marley (son of Bob) showcase his album “A Time and Place.” The album features production by Julian and brothers Ziggy and Rohan play percussion on the album’s opening track, “Where She Lay” and Bunny Wailer contributes percussion to “Father’s Place.”

• La Perla Sale | Thursday, August 7 through Friday, August 8, 2008 | 10 a.m. | Luscious La Perla - Map | Mark your calendar for this, girls. Luscious La Perla in Beverly Hills is hosting a 2 day summer sale on lingerie, swimwear and ready to wear at 75 percent off.

• The Magical Rainbow Pony Show | Thursday, August 7 through Saturday, August 9, 2008 | 8 p.m. | Free | L’KEG Gallery - Map | A magical group art show featuring paintings, video, and installation work. Collaborations between LA and Bay Area artists including Nancy Chan, Walt Gorecki,Chihiro Higaki, Mike Poll, Allison Smith, Paul Solis and Jasper Wong

Photo by Manish Bansal

Tonight and tomorrow at the Aero Theater on Montana in Santa Monica, Director Wayne Wang will be in attendance with two new cuts of his latest films as well as two screenings of his other films. Wang is a well known for his amazingly broad career in the industry. He has worked on many different types of films, from indie hit Chas is Missing and Smoke to The Joy Luck Club and Maid in Manhattan. Wang explores cultural, racial and economic issues from all ends of the spectrum. This special tribute showcases several of his finest works, including sneak previews of his latest, A THOUSAND YEARS OF GOOD PRAYERS and THE PRINCESS OF NEBRASKA.

The Double Feature begins at 7:30pm with a sneak preview of A THOUSAND YEARS OF GOOD PRAYERS:

Once again, director Wayne Wang beautifully explores the struggle between freedom and traditional family duty with the story of a father and daughter who’ve become strangers as a consequence of the censorship of Maoist China. Mr. Shi (a superb performance by Henry O), a retired widower from Beijing, comes to the United States to help his only daughter, Yilan (Faye Yu), through a divorce, but he soon learns that his goals are in direct conflict with her desire to move on. Winner of four awards at the San Sebastian Film Festival.

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Lots of great shows tonight. Catch one while you can!

• Ooklah the Moc | 8:00 pm at The Roxy - Map | All Ages | Tickets $15 Buy Now
• Paul Rodriguez | 8:00 pm at Acs Lounge - Soboba Casino - Map | 21 +| Tickets $30 Buy Now
• Steve Miller Band and Joe Cocker | 8:00 pm at the NOKIA Theatre L.A. LIVE | Ages not specified | Tickets $59.50 - 89.50 Buy Now
• The Enemy U.K. | 8:00 pm at Troubadour - Map | All Ages | Tickets $15 Buy Now
• The Ting Tings | 8:00 pm at  El Rey Theatre - Map | All Ages | Tickets $16 Buy Now
• Club Lucky | 9:00 pm at House of Blues Anaheim - Map | 18+ | Tickets $11 Buy Now
• Indie 103 Presents Club Nme with Film School | 9:00 pm at  Spaceland - Map | 21+ | Tickets $10  Buy Now

Picture by Phil Bardi

Every night until summer ends you need look no further for your daily guide through the summer TV jungle.

This is a rough time for nightly entertainment with the tube awash in repeats and lame reality shows, but there’s still good stuff available to get you through the work week.

Let the picks begin. . .

Reality Rundown

• It’s catharsis time for NBC as it attempts to make up for airing the horribly exploitative “Baby Borrowers” with an hour-long town hall meeting entitled “Lessons Learned” Let me guess, people will do anything to get on TV?
• At 10:00, HBO takes us inside NFL training camp for the second straight season with its series “Hard Knocks”. Last year, we journeyed through the pretty mundane Kansas City Chiefs camp, this time around it’s the Dallas Cowboys featuring the rain king Pacman Jones, T.O., and Jessica Simpson’s boyfriend, Tony Romo. Seems more like a soap opera than a football team.

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