COMEDY “Groundlings Swimsuit Edition” is the comedy troupe’s latest offering, with plenty of sketch and improv. Keep your fingers crossed that we won’t see them in Speedos. (But then again, Speedos are funny…) 8 pm // Groundling Theatre // 7307 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles // $21.50. FILM Crenshaw Boulevard comes to life in the hands of director Dan Wozniak and producer Christopher Molony. The documentary features 12 vignettes of people along the street’s 24......

The title of this article was going to be Moona Lisa. Then I realized I'm not actually 8, but 28. There I am, jumping next to the latest mural by Nick Walker. (Why am I jumping? Check out the Whiskerino Project, but beware: you might be blown away by sexiness. Unless you don't like beards.) This Banksy-esque lady can be found on La Brea, past Edgewood (see map below). Walker is one of four......

GUNG HAY FAT CHOY! Come celebrate at LA's annual Lunar New Year Festival! Today the Golden Dragon Parade featuring lion and dragon dancers will thrill over 100,000 spectators along North Broadway. The festival continues until 8pm tonight, and runs from 10am to 3pm tomorrow at Broadway and Cesar Chavez. Parade 2pm-5pm Festival 10am-8pm // Chinatown // N. Broadway & College Street // Free THEATRE The Kinsey Sicks, a "Dragapella Beautyshop Quartet" perform their critically......

TALK Michael Alexander, author of Jazz Age and the Jews, will discuss Jewish life in the roaring 20s, including performer Al Jolson, Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter and mobster Arnold Rothstein in the lecture “‘Mammy, Don’t You Know Me?’: Al Jolson and the Jews.” He’ll discuss the 1920s as a heyday of Jewish culture, but why many identified with groups that remained marginalized. Book signing and dessert reception will follow. 7 pm // Davidson Conference......

Yes, we know that rainy days and Mondays can get you down. And doubly so today. But you can turn that mood around by stepping out tonight to one of these great events. Just watch for puddles. TALK Jill Leovy probably writes the Los Angeles Times best blog (excepting LAist’s own Adam Rose, natch). She chronicles almost every murder in LA to give a human element to what would be another crime blotter. Tonight Leovy’s......

COMIC BOOK ART The gallery named for the year that brought us Hypercolor T-Shirts, Yo! MTV Raps, and Salt N Pepa's single "Push It" (that's 1988 for those who didn't immediately connect) is currently featuring "Under the Influence: A Tribute to Stan Lee" in a show that runs until February 1. Preview some of the artwork online and then activate your Spidey webs and crawl over to Melrose Ave. 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. //......

DANCE Anatomy Riot is an almost-monthly series of dance/performance works and videos in a casual atmosphere. Tonight is the 21st installment curated Meg Wolfe and featuring Rebecca Alson-Milkman, Catch Me Bird Dance Theater, d. Sabela Grimes, Arianne Hoffmann, Tekla Kostek, Dance Good Damn it, Sohini Ray and Mitsu Salmon. 8 pm // The Open Space // 209 S. Garey Street , Los Angeles // $7. FILM Arthur Magazine hosts a double feature at the......

ART Check out artist Steve Keene's take on famous album covers in a show called "Covers of Covers" up now through next Friday at the Cartoon Network Studios in Burbank. Cartoon Network Studios // 300 N. Third St. Burbank // Free FILM A new film series launches tonight at Santa Monica's Aero Theater, spotlighting screwball comedies, with a double feature of 1939's Midnight, starring Claudette Colbert and 1937's Easy Living with Jean Arthur. Both......

Still haven’t found the perfect gift for that hard-to-buy-for kinky family member? Not sure what to get for the Samantha Jones of your group? Or just broke, and would sooner choke on a reindeer cookie than knit another scarf? There’s hope yet—and thank the gods of crafting, it doesn’t involve mastering a new sweater pattern. This Friday, Babeland, L.A.’s loveable educational sex toy store, will offer up Craftnight. Hosted by Julianna Parr—or “JP the......

photo by gotomattex via flickr Uh Oh, not sure what to get for that sullen-eyed teen or Vampira look-a-like on your list this year? Is shopping for your little darkling turning into a real nightmare before Christmas? Fear not! We live in L.A.: one of the best places to be dark and spooky or at least look the part. Not only do we have a thriving Goth scene, but tons of local vendors that......

There's an eclectic mix of comedy, drama and spoken word in this week's theatre picks. Shut Up and Eat Your Groundlings The Groundlings’ latest sketch show hits the stage this weekend. Groundlings Theater. 7307 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles. (323) 934-4747 ext. 37. Tickets are $21.50. Opens Friday at 8 pm. Runs Fridays at 8 pm and Saturdays at 8 and 10 pm until Nov. 24. L.A. Voz L.A. Voz (Los Angeles Voice) is a series......

There’s something for everyone in LA theatre scene this week: love, families and a little blood sucking...and if you don't like paying for your tickets but want to see what LA theatre is all about, then check out the LA Stage Alliance's Free Night of Theatre 2007. The Last Schwartz In this poignant comedy, the Schwartz siblings have gathered in their childhood family home for the one-year anniversary of their father's death. Ya gotta love......

LA’s theatre scene is packed with good stuff this week: Dolly Parton serves as muse; a Korean family’s road trip goes wrong; and a bunch of people sing about chess at the Ford. So without further ado, here are LAist’s five theater picks for this week: Journey to Dollywood Jolene is a small-town waitress who idolizes obsesses over Dolly Parton. When a stranger’s car breaks down in town, her life, a rival co-worker’s, and their......

Even if you can't marry a Spice Girl, you can still treat yourself like soccer royalty at Alpha (8625 Melrose Ave, West Hollywood, 310-855-0775). The high end men's store has gone out of their way to welcome LA's newest star, creating this window display and sending David Beckham a housewarming package including: "Los Angeles" (Coffee Table Book) Gravis Flip Flops "Cool Spots Las Vegas" (Book) Surfer Magazine's Guide to SoCal Surf Sports Andrew Christian Underwear......

This might be a holiday week(end), but LA's theatre scene never rests. Here are this week's five picks: The Catskill Sonata Veteran writer/director/actor Paul Mazursky directs this play about a bohemian (read: leftist) group of writers, artists and musicians who gather at a Catskill hotel in the 1950s. But times are a' changing this particular summer because of McCarthy's blacklist. Matrix Theater 7657 Melrose Ave., L.A Opens Saturday at 8 pm. Runs Fridays and......

LAist is a big fan of local theater. Many smaller productions are so often overlooked by the big titles that come to town, like say, Wicked, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf or Master Class, so we’ll support LA’s theater community with the best of them. But like those big productions, sometimes you’re pleasantly surprised, but other times – like in the case of The Empty Bed – you’re not quite satisfied. Billed in the......

It’s that time of year again, when I log online to check my bank account and realize that Grandma’s gift (a holiday sweater of course) has put me in the red, the holidays have overdrawn me once again, and I still need to fill my gas tank and buy toilet paper… This morning, as my tired eyes focused on that measly number, I had a thought -- besides standing on Hollywood Boulevard, what is......

If you love scary movies, the people who make them and have some time to kill this weekend, head on over to Raleigh Studios on Melrose Ave. for the Sixth Annual Shriek Fest. From the official site: Shriekfest is a festival dedicated to getting horror/thriller/scifi/fantasy filmmakers and screenwriters the recognition they deserve. What makes our festival unique is that we are free from many restrictions that other festivals may have...for instance, we are thrilled......

In case you haven't noticed, the World Cup championship started Friday. This LAist plans to watch the Footballers Wives marathon on BBC America this weekend in preparation (did you know that Tanya has a blog?). A reader asks where Angelenos rooting for teams from countries outside of the Americas and the Caribbean can watch the games. Here's a list for starters. Where will you watch? 1. Hollywood Football hosts the World Cup Breakfast series......

Actress and comedian Andrea Lwin puts up her one-woman show, Slanted, tonight at the Matrix Theatre in West Hollywood. Slanted is another installment in Lwin's performance series about her childhood as a Chinese Muslim girl in Florida and her struggles with her mother. The LA Weekly wrote this about her previous one-woman show, Dancing Lady: "Determined to fit into the blond beach-bunny society of 1970’s Fort Lauderdale, preteen Lwin absorbs Grease, names her dog......

Still looking for that perfect gift? Check out some mall-ternatives happening this weekend: Sembradores de Aztlan presents "Tianguis de la Communidad” The Tianguis supports community-based vendors as an alternative to mainstream commercial holiday shopping. Your purchase also helps raise funds for Los Angeles youth to attend the 2005 Chicana/o Indigenous Youth Leadership Institute. Date: Saturday, December 11, 2004, from 11am-5pm. Location: Tierra de la Culebra 240 S. Avenue 57 Highland Park, CA 90042 -Cultural......