Photo by kpe II via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr MUSEUM/LECTURE/RECEPTION Variations on a Caribou features Dr. Mark Sherman, Director of the International String Figure Association, addressing the lore associated with string figures (think Cat's Cradle)--we're talking chants, performance rituals, and the mathematical side of them. The evening lecture is followed by a reception at the Museum of Jurrasic Technology. 8:00 p.m. // Meeting Room of The Foshay Masonic Lodge // 9635 Venice......

Human Giant unleashed itself upon an unsuspecting public last year via MTV and the bell just rang for Round 2 - are you ready? There's sketch comedy, there's underground sketch comedy, there's in your face on-the-streets sketch comedy, and then there's Human Giant, a team that presents, in each episode, collections of bits that are more like experimental movies than the sketch comedy we've been seeing for the last 15 years. There's plenty of parody......

HISTORY It's happening right now until 4 p.m. today, so check out some of the over 200 Los Angeles area focused historical organizations over at Heritage Sqaure (right off the Gold Line). More info at an earlier LAist post. 12-4:00 p.m. // Heritage Square // 3800 Homer Street, LA, California 90031 // $10 FILM Walk Cheerfully screens tonight in the Cinefamily Asian Sunday series. Directed by Yasujiro Ozu, the 1930 film blends multiple genres and......

"He knows, Doctor. He knows." A Flickr user gives us what he calls a "dramatic and gritty view of [his] silly Star Trek action figures." GEEK OUT You know you want to...so you may as well do it. Star Trek: The Tour has docked on the Queen Mary. Beam yourself up and get yourself to Long Beach to see exhibits from all five TV shows and each of the 10 movies, including Captain Kirk's chair.......

There's only one 1/2 hour of TV I'm looking forward to tonight and it's on NBC. Out of some desperate need I've turned to Kenny vs. Spenny (which debuted on Comedy Central a couple weeks ago) but I scored the Season 3 DVDs which includes the hilarious "Who Can Make the Best Porno" competition which resulted in the first sketch comedy porno ever (although, it could be argued, that the majority of porn is sketch......

If you aren't familiar with Projekt Newspeak, they are a burgeoning local production company aimed at encouraging independent projects and breaking Asian American stereotypes in the media. Founded by Eddie Kim, the project has hosted many events, including the popular Newspeak SLAM!, a spoken word poetry competition which has featured HBO's Def Poetry veterans like SKIM and Dante Basco. This Saturday the 1st, Projekt Newspeak presents the annual "Sketch Comedy Show" at El Portal......

Neal Brennan (center) made a name for himself writing jokes alongside Dave Chappelle. With a sketch comedy show that reached legendary status in the "Chappelle's Show" and a cult classic movie, Half Baked already under his belt, Neal has transitioned into directing. Last year he directed VH-1's Totally Awesome, a hilarious Made-For-TV 80's spoof that he also co-wrote. Neal is currently working on a Will Ferrell produced comedy feature that stars Jeremy Piven. Despite......

We all had a favorite dinosaur as a kid. Now, regrettably, we are not allowed to covet such a creature. We try, in vain, to fill the void with drugs and alcohol, but nothing satisfies the need to have a huge, warm-blooded lizard to do with as you please. Let Tremendosaur be that lizard. The new sketch comedy venture from Jacob Reed (USC '08), Justin Michael (USC '08), and Dave Crabtree (USC '06) wants......

From totally random to completely set up, the Emmys go "reality" with this sketch comedy skit featuring Wayne Brady (Don't Forget The Lyrics), Rainn Wilson (of The Office) and Kayne West with a weird intro by Ryan Seacrest.......

Andy Samberg has to be one of the luckiest guys alive. Look at that goofball. Between trysting with starlets like Natalie Portman and Kirsten Dunst, his day job includes making shorts like "Lazy Sunday" at Saturday Night Live. And it all started with video sketches Samberg and his Lonely Island cohorts posted on the Web. (The other two guys got writing gigs on SNL.) So it’s fitting that Samberg is helping kick off YouTube Sketchies,......

Besides exposure for new and upcoming music, SXSW also serves as a launching pad for products, companies and shows like MTV's upcoming Human Giant. Starring funny men Aziz Ansari, Rob Huebel and Paul Scheer, the show kicked off a sneak preview party last night at Friends on 6th St. We ran into Sam Grossman, development exec at MTV. He talked about the new sketch comedy show with us over beers. “There’s a Bugs Bunny......

Texas is thawing, the Northeast is freezing, and a sort of natural order seems almost restored to the Ist-A-Verse. Almost. Londonist HQ—that is to say, the city of London—was battered by heavy winds, making it a bad time to be a twelve-meter (nearly forty-foot) tall snowman. Still, not everyone decided to keep warmly covered. Meanwhile, back indoors, the Big Brother racism is now causing all kinds of headaches for international diplomats, and Londonist got into......

There are hundreds of sketch comedy shows in LA, but this one is definitely not to be missed. Laist was lucky enough to catch a preview of Charlie and the Chocolate Sunday Show at the ACME Comedy Theatre on La Brea this Sunday. ACME is famously known as the stage where comedians such as Adam Carolla, Wayne Brady, Alex Borstein, Sean Hayes and others perfected their comedic chops. It's refreshing to see that the......

Seinfeld may have been about nothing, but “Stella,” a new show that premiered last night on Comedy Central, is about the absurd. Think about the two guys waiting on a bench for Godot, add a third, mix in some head-scratching humor, and voila, you have “Stella.” Now we don’t want to draw too many comparisons between the high concept of Beckett’s play and the low-brow humor of this television show, but it’s one of......

Last week, LAist attended the latest edition of the "Slap & Tickle," sketch comedy group.* During a monologue called, "Notes from The Wandering Eye," author Elizabeth 'Liz' Warner stood on the stage at the Lillian Theater (on Santa Monica Blvd's "intimate" Theater Row) and shared the following observations in response to the query "What have you learned during your time in LA" I've learned that Fountain is the smart man's Sunset. Willougby is the......

First, the parties you might be too late to go to: Giant Step Records hosts a listening party for Simply Good Music, Volume 2 at Star Shoes tonight. They still have RSVP info up so you could still get on that list. In other listening party news, Faith Evans's new album will be previewed tomorrow night at The Lounge. The Lounge is at 9077 Santa Monica Blvd (it's near the Troubadour). If you can't......