Friday night July 10th check out East LA Meets Napa a benefit for AltaMed Health Services that promises a mix of great modern Mexican food, wine and tequila tastes. Food GPS went last year; Josh wrote a thorough report. Union Station is one of L.A. great public spaces; ticket counters stand empty in the great hall these days and there's plenty of room on the patios outside. Should be a great summer night.
A byproduct of the Burning Man festival, Cirque Berzerk is a raucous, musical alternative circus now at the LA Historic Park (the former Cornfields site). Yes, there are clowns and acrobats but there are twists: vintage lingerie-clad aerialists, a sexy pas de deux features two sculpted men, a drunken stilt walker, a little person as comic relief (not so alternative) and a bar with Hornitos margaritas. At sunset, downtown's skyscrapers catch the light and huge torches straight from the high desert playa ignite outside the bigtop. There are five weekend performances and the show runs through July 26. A New Orleans-style troupe performs during the intermission and after the show to keep the party going. If you're a Goldstar member, discount tickets are available. Definitely a fun and different date night and most everyone was really friendly---guess it's the playa dust.
A favorite of visiting Europeans, The Eames House (Case Study House #8) is one of the Southern California's finest examples of domestic architecture. I took these pictures on a visit sponsored by the Hollyhock House docents in 2005. This year the house celebrates 60 years: Charles and Ray Eames moved into their home that overlooks an open meadow on Christmas Eve 1949. Made from industrial materials, its simplicity and harmony with is site is really inspiring. The property is open for self-guided tours Monday - Saturdays. $5/person is the suggested contribution. Peek into the windows and open doors to see the house's interior almost exactly as Ray Eames left it.
A very "Day of the Locust" afternoon in Hollywood as streams of people gather to place flowers by Michael Jackson's star in front of the Mann Chinese. An outpouring of people and emotion that reminded me of the tributes and flowers to Princess Di outside Kensington Palace but with some only-in-L.A. craziness and media frenzy: 10 satellite news trucks, LAPD on horseback, helicopter buzzing overhead and all of Hollywood Blvd.'s best impersonators out in full force asking folks if they want a picture (Elvis, Marilyn, 2 Captain Jack Sparrows, 2 Obamas, Spider-Man, Batman & the Joker and Dorothy from the Wizard of OZ). 
At Atwater's Salon Mix I caught up on the tabloids from the last couple of weeks. Thanks to "Star Trek's" success (I'm a fan!), Chris Pine appears in numerous People and US Weekly issues with his favorite local haunts in the background. The actor likes to spread his coffee love around: the paparazzi have tracked him outside both LA Mill and Intelligentsia. 
"Enjoy the view. Enjoy this minute. Tell them you love them." Lots of sweet platitudes from an anonymous Silver Lake graffiti artist who's added colorful and very legible instructions to the reservoir's walking path. Fingers crossed they used soy-based chalk, which will dissolve into biodegradable dust that will decompose the walking path's most annoying aspect--dog poop. And yes, the jasmine does smell nice.
"Food, Inc." is the documentary du jour: an elegantly crafted investigation of U.S. government food policies and a hard look at agri-business giants. Most disturbing is footage shot in cattle slaughter houses, chicken farms and the terrible killing floor for pigs. Echo Park's Brite Spot has an early cameo: writer Eric Schlosser is interviewed at the counter and served up a very appetizing looking cheeseburger and fries. Eat before the movie; that cheeseburger will lose its appeal but you'll learn the hard truth about America's food chain.
