The World Toilet Organization invites you to celebrate WORLD TOILET DAY today! 

In honor of this momentous occasion, I would like to pay homage to the john, the crapper, the throne! So today, be nice to your toilet. Remember to give it a little toilet bowl cleaner and a scrub down. Maybe even put a decorative cover on the seat!

In all seriousness, the WTO is asking people to take a few moments to think about some environmental issues associated with toilets. Below are there recommendations. If you visit their website, they are also asking for $5 online donations.

World Toilet Organization (WTO) stands up for the 3 “WE (s)” in the theme “We Deserve Better”.

• WE: Toilets deserve better social status.  WTO has been striving to elevate the status of toilets to make  them status symbols and objects of desire.  WTO speaks on behalf of toilets “WE DESERVE BETTER SOCIAL STATUS”.
• WE: The second WE are the toilet cleaners.  WTO aims to professionalize the sanitation and restroom industry and to upgrade the skill sets of the restoom cleaners.  WTO speaks on behalf of the toilet cleaners “WE DESERVE BETTER PAY, RESPECT AND PROSPECTS”.
• WE: WTO speaks on behalf of 2.5 billion toilet-less people, “WE DESERVE BETTER PLACES TO DEFECATE — PROPER TOILETS”.

The MUSE group at LACMA has a very groovy Halloween Costume Ball planned for Nov 1. Details are below. I love LACMA!

Muse Costume Ball                                         

Saturday, November 1, 2008
8:15 pm–12 am
L.A. Times Central Court and LACMA West Penthouse

Buy your costume ball tickets now!

Follow the blood-red carpet to the fifth annual Muse Costume Ball! The first half of the night kicks off with live music by Grand Ole Party, appetizers, and Pernod Absinthe cocktails, and a viewing of Vanity Fair Portraits: Photographs 1913–2008. The party then continues in the LACMA West Penthouse with a DJ set by Le Femme Digitale and the annual costume contest. Use Vanity Fair for your inspiration and come dressed as a glamorous celebrity—living or undead—ready for your close-up.

Fantastic prizes will be awarded to the best costumes in three categories: Best Halloween Costume, Best Art-Inspired Costume, and Most Glamorous Costume. Competition is steep with everyone in attendance always wearing their finest costume attire. Last year brought us Beetlejuice, Kim Jong Il, and Salvador Dalí, among many others, so one can only guess what this year will bring.

$25 for Muse members (before October 24; $30 after October 24)
$40 for general public
On sale now!

Have you ever dreamed of being Spider-man? Well now’s your chance. There is an open casting call in Hollywood to play Peter Parker or Mary Jane. Details below. Auditions run through 5 p.m. Be prepared to sing a U2 song. It’s for the new Broadway musical directed by Julie Taymor (”The Lion King” and “Across the Universe”).

Don’t forget to check out the animated feature film Sita Sings the Blues tonight at REDCAT in downtown Los Angeles at 8:30 p.m. The film is by DUCK director Nina Paley. For more details, see the blog below from last week.

Mark your calendars now! Animator extraordinaire and DUCK director Nina Paley will be screening her first animated feature film, Sita Sings the Blues, at REDCAT in Los Angeles on Monday, October 13 at 8:30 p.m.

In her first feature-length film, comic strip artist-turned-filmmaker Nina Paley juxtaposes multiple narrative and visual styles to create a highly entertaining and affecting vision of the Ramayana — the ancient Sanskrit epic and essential fixture of the Hindu canon. Musical numbers choreographed to the 1920s-era jazz vocals of Annette Hanshaw spin off an astonishing whirlwind of flying monkeys, evil monsters, gods, goddesses, warriors, sages, and winged eyeballs. The film spans continents and millennia in parallel stories of two wives being unfairly dumped, one in the American autobiographical present, the other in the mythical Indian past. Three hilarious Indonesian shadow puppets narrate both the ancient tragedy and modern comedy in this beautifully animated interpretation of the epic.

We will  be chatting with Nina sometime between now and the screening, so make sure to add us to your RSS feeds, or check back often.

Tickets are $9 at the door or $7 with a student I.D.
(REDCAT is housed at the Walt Disney Concert Hall at 2nd Ave and Grand Ave in downtown LA.)

For the official blurb on the REDCAT page, visit: http://redcat.org/season/0809/fv/paley.php
For a complete list of all cities that will be screening Sita Sings the Blues for the remainder of 2008, please visit www.ninapaley.com

Animation master Brad Bird directed the Oscar-winning films Ratatouille and The Incredibles, from industry giant Pixar Animation Studios. At the Skirball Cultural Center, hear Bird discuss his body of work and how David Lean’s celebrated classic, Doctor Zhivago, starring Omar Sharif and Julie Christie, has influenced his art.Friday, October 3, 2008
7:30 p.m.
$10 general admission, $6 full-time students
Click here for tickets

Last night, our DUCK friend Gerard got to attend the fantastic charity event put on by world #1 men’s tennis doubles team, Bob and Mike Bryan. The event took place at the exclusive Sherwood Country Club near Thousand Oaks, CA and featured matches by James Blake and legendary retired champion Andre Agassi.

At the end of the gala dinner and silent auction, the attendees were treated to performances by Grammy-winning artists and my former acquaintances from Nashville, Evan & Jaron as well as by singing sensation Brandi Carlisle.

Below is an exclusive video of Brandi’s cover last night of “Hallelujah.” She is extraordinary and a sweetheart! Pics to come as well!

This is the final week that the LA Opera will be running Puccini’s Il Trittico. The opera which is comprised of three different one-acts, also marks seminal cinematic director Woody Allen’s first foray into directing an opera. Allen directs the final of the three one-acts, Gianni Schicchi, which is Puccini’s only comedy.

I attended the opera this past Wednesday and thought it was great. The set designs were fantastic! The orchestra was sublime. The only downside is with the extended intermissions due to the set changes, the opera overall really dragged. Total running time after the delays and the standing ovations just squeaked over four hours!

For more details, ticket availability, and full cast and crew, please visit the official page for the opera at the LA Opera’s website: http://www.laopera.com/productions/0809/iltrittico/index.htm

This Friday, as part of First Fridays at The Lek, check out a great free party featuring the fantastic artwork and architecture of my friend Chino Soria. Check back in the next few days for my interview with Chino himself. Parties at the Lek are free and offer a great way to meet other singles based on mutual interests. (The Lek is kinda like Match.com meets Facebook.)

Chino Soria is a self taught visual artist and an graduated from University of Buenos Aires with a degree in architecture. He was born in Argentina and currently lives and works in Los Angeles.

The Lek
1506 Abbot Kinney Blvd
Venice, CA 90291
310-929-7927
www.thelek.com

Friday, Sept. 5th 2008
7pm-10:30pm

On Tuesday, August 26 at the Center for Inquiry West, Andy Kindler presents Cartoon Dump - The Worst Cartoons Ever! Imagine a world where a children’s show has a cast of characters that have more psychological disorders than you do. Add the mind-numbing debauchery of the worst, most poorly animated cartoons from the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s. Then throw in the wry commentary you came to love from “Mystery Science Theater 3000,” and what have you got? Cartoon Dump!
Tickets are $10 or $5 through Goldstar.
(This event is in Los Angeles.)

Pardon my ignorance, but the Center for Inquiry sounds a bit, oh I don’t know, cultish. In fact, i just asked some girl if she’d heard of it and she thought it was the Scientology headquarters, which I don’t think is true. But you should Wikipedia them. Looks a bit off beat to say the least, but who knows, maybe Cartoon Dump will be fun!