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"Why does a man in a chicken suit cross the stage?" is not the only existential inquiry tackled by Charles Mee’s challenging but rewarding theater piece bobrauschenbergamerica. There’s also: "Does man have the power to forgive himself?" "What’s it like to swim in a giant martini?" "Do men and women deceive each other or themselves when they fall in love?" And, of course, "Did somebody make a mistake with the slide projector before the show started tonight?"

Concept art for Dave Gahan's forthcoming French retro anime electro concept album | Photo courtesy of this! As long as he steers clear of movies with numbers for titles, John Cusack's all right with me. Sunday, the New Bev pairs Cusack classic High Fidelity with (500) Days of Summer, both in Scenesteround Sound! The Aero continues the Cusack attack with Better Off Dead, featuring a live commentary from writer-director "Savage" Steve Holland & cast-members...

The stage was set and the pressers positioned. After countless entries were submitted last December, five finalists emerged to go head to head at The Coral Tree Café Panini-Off last Tuesday, January 19. Brentwood would be the setting to determine just who makes the best panini in town. A rainy January night would prove to be the perfect backdrop, as few things are more comforting than hot-pressed sandwiches. Cecilia Fabulich’s fusion-esque Shanghai Spice Pork Loin Panini was the sweet-spicy selection of the night and came with a topping of pickled onions. Michael Haddad’s Breakfast Panini with Egg, Prosciutto, Gruyere and Chive Oil was a perfect morning hangover solution. Firefighters crowded around Tsz Chan and her comforting Holiday Ham Panini to ask for seconds (and thirds and fourths - but who’s counting?).

This past weekend the Go Green Expo rocked the Los Angeles Convention Center, bringing a diverse array of vendors, activists and entertainers downtown. A traveling tour of all things green, this was the Expo’s second year in Los Angeles. More than 300 booths, grouped into several sections, from “Green Jobs” to “Eco-Pet Expo,” offered options for every stripe of environmentalist. (More than 5,000 attended on Saturday). Activist and actor Ed Begley Jr. gave the keynote address, providing one of the highlights of the fair.

Breadline Productions, a new theater company in these parts that presented more than 20 original plays in a previous Chicago incarnation, is now introducing itself to Los Angeles audiences with the world premiere staging of 11, September at the Odyssey Theatre on Sepulveda Boulevard. Written by and co-starring company artistic director Paul Kampf, 11, September mostly takes place in the New York apartment of a young waitress who hooks up with one of her café customers, an out-of-town professor participating in a conference to commemorate the eighth anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks. Whether by fate, design or coincidence, then, the pair’s respective disclosures reveal that their lives are more tightly, and tragically, entwined than their evidently random initial encounter had indicated.

Girls expressing themselves with bloody bathtubs! | Photo courtesy of After Dark Films If you've got a daughter, take her to Girls Rock! this Sunday at the Echo Park Film Center. It's a pretty inspiring rawk dawc. If you don't have a daughter, take yourself. The funny looks will be worth it, because there's plenty fun for adults too. Then sit tight - because right about the time it sinks in that Rock 'n'...

What I wouldn't give to be a cup of tea right now... | Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics For one night only, two juggernauts join together for the ultimate music & movie mixtape. To celebrate the release of DJ/MC/producer/psychedelic-master Edan's latest mixtape Echo Party, Stones Throw Records & Cinefamily unite for Echo Party, the... party! With Edan on the decks, Tom Maharajah (the evil genius behind the Cinefamily's "Mondo..." series) on the eyes,...

Bloodied girls in tight clothes rule! | Photo courtesy of Epic Slap, LLC The Hammer comes out swinging this week! Thursday, see Youth in Revolt - with your very own Michael Cera & Miguel Arteta! If the line's too long, hike it up to campus for another youthful, revolting picture, when Melnitz Movies hosts Australian Oscar submission Samson & Delilah and director Warwick Thornton. Sunday, Fly Away back to the Hammer for youth in...

W.C. Fields: A face fit for radio, a persona fit for the pictures. | Photo courtesy of mtsofan via flickr I'm always stuck when it comes to New Year's resolutions. I've already got a great job, a beautiful lady & a weekly soap-box to rave about my favorite theaters. But there's always room for improvement. For instance, I'm not as curmudgeonly as I'd like. Luckily, the Aero has my late lifecoach, W.C. Fields, and...

Holiday dinner before the egg nog... | Photo courtesy of Industrial Entertainment Herr Claus may be the most sought-after German this week, but his countryman Herzog is also comin' to town. He'll see you, sleeping or awake, at the Downtown Independent, for a screening of his latest, My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done. If two Herzog films in one season isn't enough of a treat, gorge yourself on the other names in...