Crowded Teeth, Pt. 2

As promised, here are pics from last weekend's Crowded Teeth show at the seriously-why-didn't-anyone-tell-me-how-cute (?!!?) Leanna Lin's Wonderland.

Of course, there were the requisite cake pops. Kinda over cake pops, guys. Right there tied with cupcakes for triteness. All the same, I'm totally jackin' this presentation for our next birthday party.

We took gratuitous amounts of free snapshots in the mobile photo booth, met the artist — who was lovely and gracious — and even made a new friend, the very cool creator of Spicy Brown tees.

The swag bag was a Chinese take-out box filled with cuteness, including cupcake lipgloss, a Baggu bag, a charming mini box of dinner-time questions by The Box Girls and a sweet little charm locket (which my kid has already lost).

We picked up a set of Crowded Teeth earrings for the little one's tiny pierced ears. True to form, I hesitated and the art piece I wanted was swiped from underneath my nose. Maybe I'll hit up the next Crowded Teeth show at Munky King on Aug. 20...

Art I Heart — Crowded Teeth

What am I doing with my Saturday night (besides veggie-bargaining, dish-washing and bedtime-administering)?

We're planning to keep it local, visiting Leanna Lin's Wonderland in Eagle Rock for the store's 1st Birthday party, which coincides with the opening of their Crowded Teeth + Friends exhibit party. Crowded Teeth is Michelle Romo, an area artist/designer who clearly is as committed to cuteness as I am.

There will be the now-standard L.A. event stuff: fusion-y food trucks, photo booths, artisinal ice cream, felt stuff with owls on it. You know.

Oh, and my personal favorite, Deth P. Sun has some pieces in the show, too.

The event's going down in conjunction with something called, "The Northeast Los Angeles 2nd Saturday Gallery Night." I don't know about all that, but...bring on the cuteness!

I'll post party pics later.

Song of the Day

Hmm...I was all set to post this song because I can't stop listening to it lately.

But then, I went on the Toro Y Moi blog and learned that the track ("Still Sound") was just included on an episode of "Entourage." Ugh.

Regardless! It's still solid. And I can't fault Chaz Bundick for getting his paper.

So...

BTW, Toro Y Moi's playing at the El Rey the day before my birthday...if you were wondering what to get me as a gift.

Dinner Party Download armed me with banter...now where are my invitations?

The wittiest guys in the room; Brendan Francis Newnam (L),

Rico Gagliano (R).

You're washing dishes, folding laundry, returning Ikea rejects, or doing any number of mundane tasks that could use a bit of spicing up.

Enter The Dinner Party Download.

These podcasts brief you on current events, a bit of history trivia (which, then, serves as the leitmotif for an accompanying cocktail recipe), an interview with a pop culture figure, a head's up on a new and/or interesting foodie trend, plus, a lesser-known musical gem to end the show. And they manage to cram all this into less than 15 minutes. Even better, the hosts — Rico Gagliano and Brendan Francis Newnam — come across as clever, charming and much cooler than your average public radio hosts. (Maybe you caught the duo recently on "Rocco's Dinner Party," where they were woefully underused.)

I first learned about DPD last month, thanks to Racked LA, and I've been playing catch-up ever since.

Their guest roster is impressively diverse and compelling. There's Serena Williams exposing her inner-nerd, Ishmael Butler of Shabazz Palaces explaining "swag," Carrie Brownstein, Das Racist, Paul Giamatti, Richard Ayoade, Robert Wagner (?) and on and on for more than 100 episodes.

Most recently, they spoke with my beloved Don Cheadle, then discussed the elusive speculoos. Check it out:

And just because I had the maddest crush on Ishmael Butler back when he was better known as "Butterfly" from the Digable Planets, here's the segment where he's featured:

Art I Heart — Os Gemeos

Yesterday, we finally made it to the last day of the Art in the Streets exhibit at MOCA, after having dragged our feet about it during its entire run. It was amazing, if not a bit overwhelming and uncomfortably over-crowded.

Yeah, there was a cluster of Banksy pieces. Yes, the Rammellzee black-lit lair was fun, in a post-apocalyptic kind of way. And the city-within-a-gallery "Street" installation was incredibly detailed and packed with clever touches.

But, by far, Os Gemeos swept the show for me. I was aware of the Brazilian twin brothers, but had never been face to face with their work. It was colorful, playful and engaging — a nice balance to some of the rougher, more street-tough representations of graffiti. (Who knows? Maybe I was seeing it all through Mommy-vision.)

Admittedly, this is a pretty lousy photo. On the left was a wall filled with doors and two shacks suspended from the ceiling. It had a definite a favela vibe. On the other side were dozens of speaker heads all playing music from reverberating mouths. And somewhere behind that crush of people was a set of musical instruments featuring more painted faces.

You can see some of their actual (comparatively grittier) street graffiti here.

If it's cute, it fits.

My daughter gave my husband a single directive before he left for a recent work trip to Seattle: "Bring me back something pink."

He dutifully hit up Schmancy and came back with this oddball bit of hand-crafted plush by Absolutely Small.

She's hereby been christened "Fluffy," (yeah, I know, not very imaginative) and, according to the tag, she's a member of the "2010 All Bunny Swim Team."

Though it looks like the (vaguely creepy) product of a Home-Ec project, I can't deny its charm. "Fluffy" is the handiwork of artist Claire Chambers, who sells many of her perfectly imperfect wares on Etsy. I'd never heard of her before, but from cursory research, she seems really enamored of chickens wearing pants.

All in all, I have to give Super Dad his props. This is a huge step up from last minute airport tchotchkes!

Watch This — Adventure Time

Honestly, I've never "gotten" the whole Spongebob Squarepants fascination. Specifically, I've never been able to grasp non-breeding adults who dutifully watch it solo. Granted, my experience with the show is largely limited to turning it on to pacify my nephew when he was younger and clicking past it on Virgin America flights. Still, my impression of it is that it's insipid to the point of even really talking about.

Now, if you want to talk about a kids' show that's as much for adults as anything else, then let's talk about Cartoon Network's Adventure Time with Finn and Jake. Since I discovered it about a week ago, I have been absolutely all about it. Before this, I've been known to crack up over adult-aimed cartoons of the Home Movies, Dr. Katz, or the (very Rated-R) Archer variety. But now I'm feeling the kid-friendly fare (though it could easily skew toward the Adult Swim realm).

There is a kid in a bunny hood and his adopted brother, a shape-shifting dog. There is a hipster vampire girl, assorted really bizarre princesses, an Ice King (voiced by Spongebob, himself), lots of anthropomorphized pastries and, of course, Lady Rainicorn. There's no clear storyline, just heaps and heaps of funny, random adventures. New eps air each Monday night, but I've been Tivo'ing and catching up on re-runs.

I'm not even sure I want my kid to watch it, honestly; it's exceedingly random, fairly violent and, at times, creepy. Plus, I get the same sensation as when I find her liking my expensive cheeses, or Trader Joe's mango juice too much; too good for kids!

I'm not alone in my adoration for this show. It's got it's own Wiki situation, blog, Facebook page (nearly 1.4 million likes!) and Twitter feed.

There are a full episodes on the home page and a ton of clips on Youtube. Here's my favorite:

UPDATE: Also, this has now happened.

AN UPDATE OF ACTUAL TIMELY IMPORTANCE: The cast and creators will host a screening and panel discussion this Sunday, Aug. 14 at L.A.'s Paley Center. Click here for more info.

L.A. Escapes — Big World Fun Family Series

An eight-year-old doing gravity-defying capoiera moves, an adorable tortoise named "Tortellini" and a middle-aged Bobby McFerrin-type dude in white leather Keds doing the Bankhead Bounce.

These are just a few of the visual treats my daughter and I have enjoyed at this summer's line-up of Big! World! Fun! Family Series at the Ford Amphitheater. Yesterday, she and I did the pony, the twist and some Afro-Haitian dance moves to traditional Southern and Gullah children's songs, courtesy of the Bay Area's Linda Tillery and The Cultural Heritage Choir.

The Family Series started in early July and runs every Saturday through Aug. 27. It's free for kids and only $5 for adults. It's a fully engaging hour of outdoor (tarp-shaded) entertainment that's a perfect fit for that random pre-lunch timeframe. Kids learn about the music and dance styles of cultures — from Vietnamese to Brazilian to zydeco.

The next event (Mexican folk ballet) is August 13 at 10 a.m. If you get there early enough, kids can participate in hands-on activities, such as crafts, animal petting stations and the like. And there are usually CDs for sale afterward and the performers make themselves available for meet-and-greets and photo ops.

Things to know:

-Parking is $1 up front. It's stacked parking, too. So, if you have a tiny and/or testy one and worry that your antsy kid may necessitate leaving early, know that, well...you can't. That is, unless you get there super early and park very strategically.

-The first time I went, I bought tix online, which turned out well because it was packed. The second time, I was able to walk right up and buy the ticket right before the show starts. I don't know if some shows are just more in-demand than others. Maybe call?

-There are seats, but they're not assigned. It's first come, first served. (Also, not every seat is a shady one; there are a few cracks in the shade tarp. And there's no shade at all in the back rows.)

-Bring water.

-Bring your own snacks, too (at least, if you're as uptight about what your kid eats as I am). You can eat inside the seated area, but all they sell at the concession stand is movie-style popcorn and other sugary and salty junk food.

-You should get up and dance. Your kid will benefit from seeing you do it...even if you're not particularly good at it. Sure, you may clap on the 1's and 3's. But do it with heart and a smile on your face and your kid will learn a lesson about being uninhibited. Don't be a lame!

For reals?! — It's been almost a year???

Pink Worm Listens To Some Jams

I checked the date of my last-written post and was gobsmacked. I knew it had been a while since I last posted here, but I didn't realize that it had been the better part of a year.

Makes sense, though. The Sept. 2010 date correspondent with the start date of my current paying gig. I spend the majority of my days writing stuff like this, this and (brace yourself) this.

Oh, and let's not forget mommy-ing and...buying my first ever house! Eagle Rock is the spot (never mind what the New York Times says)!

Anyway...to ease me back into the swing of things, I figured I'd go with an easy post. My husband just got back from a trip to Seattle and brought back the above print by Chicago artist Laura Berger.

So cute, right? It reminds me of my current obsession, Adventure Time (but, more on that in an upcoming post.) You can shop for more of Berger's handiwork here.

Okay. That wasn't so hard. I have tons more stuff to share. So, get ready to get involved!