End o' week musings

Wow! It's been nonstop fun this week and my big plans for this weekend is to have a nice long nap!

Friday I made the trek to the Wonderful World Art Gallery in Culver City for the "Carnival of the Strange" exhibit featuring Emily the Strange artwork by Rob Reger and Buzz Parker. The space is terrrific- popular culture art in a variety of media adorns every wall. You'll see art from Dr. Seuss stories, "Nightmare Before Christmas," Disney, advertising and more, as well as local artists. The owner and staff are friendly and knowledgeable. They aren't pushy about trying to get you to purchase art and have a fairly easy layaway plan if you do.

Laughter reigned at the reception, as well as lots of chatter. I had the opportunity to meet Rob and he's a great guy. He signed my favorite Emily the Strange book and looked for Buzz to add his autograph. While Buzz and I chatted, Rob went to the bar and brought me back a yummy cosmopolitan. Both of these boys were raised right- lots of manners, appreciation for their fans and no "I'm famous" attitudes. The exhibit will be up for a while and you should check it out if you get a chance.

On my way home from Emily, I stopped in at the Buccaneer in Sierra Madre to catch the Idiots. They are a cover band, but their repertoire is quite intriguing, as they pull out a lot of songs you don't normally hear live. There, I ran into my friend Schulyer Wrobel and his wife Deb. Shulyer has a new art exhibit and here's the skinny:

Sierra Madre Books
18 W. Sierra Madre Blvd, Ste A
Sierra Madre, CA 91024
626-836-3200 phone
626-836-3230 fax
web: www.sierramadrebooks.com
email: sierramadrebooks@verizon.net

Schulyer works in a range of media and does everything from pin-ups and fantasy to landscapes and portraits, as well as sculpture, gourd art and more. Help out a local artist and get your holiday shopping done at the same time.

Saturday began with yoga and then I was off and running. First I went to hear the Welsh Choir of Southern California in San Marino. Absolutely beautiful is the best review I can give. Their voices are almost angelic and the accompanying musicians and narrator added to the performance for an unforgettable afternoon. In the evening I went to Pasadena City College for the annual Halloween concert. The orchestra's focus was on witches this time, with a selection from "Wicked," as well as "Night on Bald Mountain" and more. Our host was a vampire with a sense of humor and some of the pieces were graced by dancers and a vocalist. The best part about this show is seeing the orchestra in costume. My favorite was the Flying Monkey horn player.

Ever since my voice teacher, David Gabriel, moved to Ohio, there has been a hole in my life. He has been a part of my life for about 16 years or so and we just don't see or talk with each other enough any more. But he is out visiting and I joined David and his daughter Lindsay for Sunday's Shiny Toy Guns concert at the Galaxy in Santa Ana. Unfortunately, the band had a bad night and were not at their best. Fortunately, I was with good company, so the evening wasn't wasted. BTW- Happy birthday Lindsay! Love you lots!

Are you tired yet? I was, but I still made it to see DJ Krush do his stuff at the Glass House in Pomona Monday night. You may think a turntablist has it easy, but this guy works hard and his grooves and tunes kept the crowd moving. I had an opportunity to meet Krush after the show and he was extremely polite and a big sweetie. I'll have photos and more on Krush here soon.

Halloween I headed to the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles for "Fright Night at the Museum." There was a DJ, food, drinks and some of the exhibit rooms were open so you could enjoy the displays. Best of all, there was two live bands- Gram Rabbit and the Horropops. Gram Rabbit opened with a cover of "Warpigs" and then offered up a mix of hard rock and dance. They were fun and seemed to have quite a few fans in the crowd. The Horropops were terrific- they had humor and a rockin' set and the audience didn't want them to stop. The event, sponsored by 103.1 FM, was free and all of the food and beverages were moderately priced. It was an inexpensive night out in a great party scene. I even made some new friends!

Last night I shook my groove thing, as Valerie and I are preparing for our next big show in December. We will be traveling to San Luis Osbispo for a large tribal belly dance event and doing our Tribe of Gypsies' "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" choreography.

This week: I have band practice tonight... oh, didn't I mention it?? Yes, I am forming a new band. We plan to do covers, at least to start, and then maybe some originals. We'll see how it goes and I'll keep you in the loop. Saturday it's "Rocky Horror Show" at Citrus College, Sunday the Rio Hondo Symphony in Whittier and - believe it or not - a fairly open week after that. But then, things can change and they often do.

Enjoy the photos- one of Schulyer's pieces and my usual funny animals. No 'toon, as it was posted Wednesday- look for the Happy Halloween listing if you would like to see it.

In rotation this week: Van Hesling's Curse, Dio, X-Files compilation, Masters of Horror compilation, 69 Eyes, Danzig, Nekromantix, DJ Krush, The Who, Joe Walla, Cowboy Junkies, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Aerosmith and Janis Joplin.

I've been having a tough time at work. My journalism beat is changing slightly and it's always stressful to deal with change. I have had to shut away my negativity and look for the positive side of my new assignments. I am realizing that this is an opportunity, not a loss, and it will provide me with a chance to learn new things and have new adventures. Perhaps we all can apply this attitude to some aspect of our lives.

Keep on rockin'

Mickie