Christine N. Ziemba

Pull up a chair and talk tech this weekend @ BarCampLA this weekend. / Photo by ~db~ via LAist’s flickr pool. The tech lover’s “unconference” BarCampLA-7 is being held this weekend (May 2-3) at OTX Research in Culver City. For the uninitiated, BarCamp is an international network of user-generated conferences for people to share and exchange information in an open environment. The weekends are part party, but are highlighted by intense discussions, demos and...

Joseph Girandola exhibit opens at Hope Gallery tonight. / Photo courtesy of the artist. Not headed east for the Coachella Valley this weekend? That's perfectly okay because there's plenty of stuff to do. And most of the stuff tonight doesn't cost nearly as much as a music festival pass. JAZZ LACMA's Friday Night Jazz series returns for its 18th season, celebrating the finest jazz musicians from around LA. The free concert series begins tonight...

Octo-peeps! / Photo by CJ Universal (Carolyn A. Hampton) via LAist's flickr pool. DEAD AUTHOR READING Tonight Machine Project teams up with 826LA for “Dead Author Readings” with Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson who’ll be discussing Walden. There are two shows at 8 and 10 pm. Bring blankets or something else to sit on. Space is limited because of Machine Project's "forest." CIRQUE* Royal/T and Zippercut are hosting a one-night only circus-themed...

DISCUSSION* More than 160,500 women have served (and died) in the former president’s the war in Iraq, but many find themselves isolated in the male-dominated culture. “This seclusion, combined with the military's history of gender discrimination and the uniquely challenging conditions in Iraq, has resulted in a mounting epidemic of sexual abuse, physical degeneration, and emotional distress among many female soldiers.” Tonight Columbia University journalism professor Helen Benedict will talk about her latest book,...

Baroque music takes over WDCH tonight. / Photo by el daverino via LAist's flickr pool. ART TALK* The Hammer Museum hosts an Artist Talk tonight at 7 pm with LA-based artist Jeffrey Vallance, whose work encompasses object-making, installation, performance, curating and writing. Examples of his art include projects as burying a frozen hen (Blinky the Friendly Hen, 1978) at a pet cemetery, traveling throughout Polynesia in search of the origin of the myth of...

Except for LAist of course, you’re probably not satisfied with local news coverage. Community issues are often pushed aside for real news like, Octomom. So now it’s time to do something about it. Join other like-minded people at the “Local Media for Social Change: Los Angeles Summit” tomorrow at Occidental College from 11 am-5:15 pm. It’s a full day of speakers and panel discussions on local media, creating social change and how to get...

Hang out with your dogs and drink wine with your dawgs. / Photo of Love by puck90 via LAist's flickr pool. Los Angelenos love their dogs. And even more love wine. Much Love Animal Rescue has teamed up with LearnAboutWine to bring both together for a good cause. Tomorrow the “Much Love for Dogs & Wine” event will take place at The Lofty Dog’s indoor dog park in downtown LA from 2-5 pm. Guests...

A Noise Within tackles the Bard's Taming of the Shrew. Photo by Craig Schwartz Let's brush up on our Shakespeare, shall we? The Taming of the Shrew is one of the Bard's earlier comedies. Basically, a young man falls in love with girl. The problem is that the girl's father won't allow her to get married until her "difficult" older sister gets hitched (aka the shrew in the play's title). To solve the problem,...

MOCA's holding a mini golf art party. / Photo by pink_fish13 via LAist's flickr pool. Tonight marks the next installation of MOCA's "Engagement Party" series, where the public is invited to participate in art installations with local collectives. Tonight Knifeandfork (founded by Brian House and Sue Huang) step up to the tee box for the intallation "Emptiness is Form (Golf and Donuts)." Knifeandfork retools miniature golf as an interactive art installation that appropriates the...

The Bird and the Bee by Autumn De Wilde It’s the first Friday of the month, meaning that the First Fridays series continues at the Natural History Museum tonight. It’s a little gathering where you learn a little and party a whole lot more. First up at 5:30 (and 6) pm is a tour of the Vertebrate Paleontology Collection with NHM Curator Dr. Lawrence Barnes. At 6:30 pm, there’s a discussion and book signing...

LAPD Chief William Bratton appears at Zócalo event tonight to talk about the past, present and future of the department in LA. / Photo by digitalshay via LAist's flickr pool. It’s a little quiet on the event front tonight. But people probably still need to recover from all their Super Bowl parties yesterday anyway. FILM Romantic film classics are playing at the ArcLight Theaters all month long. The original Sabrina with Audrey Hepburn, Humphrey...

Murder on the Bounding Main @ the Sierra Madre Playhouse. We had never been to Sierra Madre before, and this writer’s significant other can be enticed to see theatre once in a blue moon - especially if the production involves murders or mysteries, so we decided to make the drive up the 210 freeway to the sleepy little burg to catch Murder on the Bounding Main at the Sierra Madre Playhouse. It’s such a...