SoCal L.O.W.F.I

Hopefully I don’t need to explain the horrors of GMOs (genetically modified organisms), and their main evil creators over at Monsanto (who we can also thank for Agent Orange, DDT, bovine growth hormone, and 2/3s of the produces you’re probably consuming. MMM… corn spliced with mosquito DNA!) Obama appointed the VP of Monsanto as head of food safety czar, and you should be pissed. Tell him here:

http://signon.org/sign/tell-obama-to-cease-fda.fb1?source=s.fb&r_by=2088935

If you have an upcoming event which you’d like sent out to 300+ of Los Angeles’ most interesting and discerning individuals, drop me a line: Skylaire@gmail.com.

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Friday night marked the first of a new lecture series by Dr. Hoeller: Depth Psychology and the Esoteric Tradition, wherein he will “trace the major features of the tradition of inner wisdom in relation to their new articulation in psychology terms by C. G. Jung. Future Friday topics include “Hermetic Wisdom and the Teachings of C. G. Jung,” “Jung as Reviver of the Gnostic Tradition” and “Jung and the Alternative Mysticism of the West.” Find the entire schedule here: http://gnosis.org/gnostsoc/

My computer wouldn’t let me post yesterday, so I apologize I didn’t get a mention of the amazing documentary, Into the Zone: The Story of the Cacophony Society, a prankster-arts group yours truly was involved with when she was underage (and therefore, not able to incur felony convictions). So many old (old) faces at the screening last night, but I had to run to meet Haskel Wexler. The art exhibit runs through April 15:

The Cacophony Society Zone Show: You May Already be a Member
Exhibition at Grand Central Art Center
125 North Broadway, Santa Ana, CA 92701
http://www.grandcentralartcenter.com/ArtGallery_gcartgallery.php

Here’s why I left in such haste:

Waugh’s Angeles

By Skylaire Alfvegren

Released on Oct. 11, 1965, The Loved One was promoted as “the motion picture with something to offend everyone.” Refined English writer Evelyn Waugh made a temporary move to “a little town called Los Angeles,” resulting in his satirical novel on which Terry Southern and Christopher Isherwood based their script. The Loved One was said to be unfilmmable, and no less a director than Luis Buñuel threw up his hands before Tony Richardson managed to tell the twisted tale of Dennis, a wide-eyed English poet (Robert Morse) who arrives in Los Angeles to visit with his old Hollywood uncle (John Gielgud). Unceremoniously let go from the studio to which he’s dedicated his life, the uncle promptly commits suicide, forcing the boy into a number of horrifically funny situations as well as a romantic entanglement with naive mortuary cosmetologist Aimee Thanatogenos (Anjanette Comer). Jonathan Winters plays dual roles as a studio flunky and Rev. Wilbur Glenworthy, calculating owner of Aimee’s place of work (loosely based on Forest Lawn). The Loved One also features a completely deranged Rod Steiger as head embalmer Mr. Joyboy, Paul Williams as a boy genius and Liberace as a coffin salesman, as well as cameos from the likes of Milton Berle and Chick Hearn. The darkest of black comedies, it is a litmus test, very rarely screened, and we dare not give away any more of the plot lest we scare anyone away. This American Cinematheque screening is a demented dream come true, with a moderated discussion featuring Winters, Morse and cinematographer Haskell Wexler following the film. (I filmed the 40 minutes Q&A, after which the entire audience sang Happy Birthday to Mr. Wexler, who was about to turn 90, and was most responsible for the film being made.

Sunday, February 5

The Pentagon Papers @ the Santa Monica Playhouse/the Other Space. (Presented in association with Vietnam Veterans of America.) The World Premiere of J-Powers’s Pentagon Papers in the 40th anniversary year of the Watergate break-in. For the first time on stage, the hidden history of the Vietnam War that destroyed more than one president is dramatized. President Richard Nixon referred to the Watergate break-in which eventually lead to his resignation as ‘silly’ and ‘incredible’ in grand jury transcripts made public in November 2011. Powers’s new play Pentagon Papers presents key passages from the recently declassified Pentagon Papers revealing the shocking secrets that led him to create a team of Watergate burglars and eventually to the self-destruction of his presidency. Unlike previous works on the subject that explore the courtroom effort regarding the right to publish, Pentagon Papers dramatizes the actual secret history of America’s involvement in Vietnam. Performed by a cast of young actors, the production aims to inspire a new generation of Americans to demand honesty and transparency from leaders.  “The truth will set you free,” said Daniel Ellsberg, who risked everything, including his freedom, to expose this classified information. http://santamonicaplayhouse.com/

24-Hour Musical: The Fastest Curtain in Town b by Skylaire Alfvegren

When I was young, I was a rock hound, attending gem and mineral shows around the Southland. Once, among displays of pyrite and geodes, I found a box of paper bags, marked “$1 surprise grab bag.” My interest piqued, I bought one and ripped it open, unable to identify the lumpy specimen within. “Arsenic!” a concerned mineralogist told my mother, attempting to buy it back. My tiny mind knew it was a good surprise with a lot of potential. It is with that sense of adventurous possibility that the Hooligan Theatre Company and UCLA’s ACT III Theatre Ensemble present the 24-Hour Musical, wherein a musical meeting three criteria (it must be well-known, fun and employ a big cast) is rehearsed, songs and all, costumed and teched within 24 hours, culminating in the performance. Although the musical is picked months in advance, it and its roles are kept secret from the cast and crew until 8 p.m. on the night before the performance. Yes, actors fudge their lines, improvise, even erupt in laughter — but it’s all to benefit No Limits, a local charity that empowers hearing-impaired children through theater. Previous productions have included Grease and Guys and Dolls. Ackerman Union Grand Ballroom, UCLA, 405 Hilgard Ave., Wesstwood. 8pm. Free, donations accepted.

Ongoing:

Initial Points: Anchors of America’s Grid

Exhibit on view at CLUI Los Angeles

This new exhibit looks at the historic surveying infrastructure of the USA, and how literal monuments of place have evolved into expressive cornerstones of space. An exhibition by the Center for Land Use Interpretation in association with the Institute of Marking and Measuring with contributions by the National Museum of Surveying and the Principal Meridian Project. CLUI Los Angeles, 9331 Venice Blvd., Culver City. http://clui.org/