Mark DeCarlo and Ivan Kane present ODD WEDNESDAYS, a new, live, bi-monthly comedy and music variety show premiering March 17, 2010 @ 8PM at Café Was. ODD WEDNESDAYS features an amazing lineup of talented bands, singer-songwriters, and comedians coming together for the newest comedy & music showcase in Hollywood. The March 17 St. Patrick’s Day premiere will feature the house band Old Blues Eyes with singer-songwriters, and comedians performing in this talent-packed Jam Session / Open Mic. The night’s top acts will win cool prizes and a spot to perform along side all-star comedians and musicians on the LAST ODD WEDNESDAY, March 31st. Performer sign-ups are at 8:00 PM. JAM NIGHT runs from 9-11 PM. There is NO COVER CHARGE. Ivan Kane’s CAFÉ WAS is located at 1521 N. Vine St. Hollywood, CA. http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=347583032466 . WHO: Presented by Mark DeCarlo and Ivan Kane’s CAFE WAS WHAT: ODD WEDNESDAYS, the newest comedy & music premiere showcase WHEN: Beginning St. Patrick’s Day, March 17th, 2010, (and continuing EVERY ODD WEDNESDAY of every month (3/31, 4/7, 4/21, 5/5, 5/19 etc.)  Doors @ 8 PM Show @ 9 PM WHERE: Ivan Kane's CAFÉ WAS 1521 N. Vine St. Hollywood, CA (323)466-5400 TICKETS:   No Cover Charge – Free – ...

By Angela Rocco DeCarlo Pierre –Auguste Renoir Exhibit Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) February 14 – May 9,2010 Pierre – Auguste Renoir,(1841 – 1919) the French Impressionist painter known for his luminescent female nudes, was a towering figure in the art world along with other Impressionist greats such as Monet and Cezanne. This ticketed LACMA Renoir exhibit; February 14 – May 9, 2010 – illuminates Renoir’s later works as a postimpressionist whose influence on modern painters, such as Picasso, has received lesser discussion. This exhibit, which opened this past fall at the Grand Palais, Paris, is the first to focus on the mature works of Renoir, in his last years. The exhibit moves on to the Philadelphia Museum of Art June 17. The show brings together about 80 of his paintings, drawings and sculptures from collections in Europe, the United States and Japan. In addition, works by Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisee, Aristide Maillol and Pierre Bonnard demonstrate Renoir’s often overlooked influence on their art. A startling echo can be seen in Picasso’s female figures after viewing Renoir’s nudes painted in his 20th century career. Many years ago a friend and I took our seven young sons – ages 3 to 12 - to see ...

Santa Anita Park, Arcadia, CA By Angela Rocco DeCarlo, copyright, 2010 While it doesn’t look like a scene from an old Marx Brothers movie anymore, a day at the races is still a fun enterprise, whether you know the score or not. Recently a group of school chums from Chicago wanted to try their luck. We spent a pleasurable few hours in the grandstands trying to figure out betting techniques, while discussing long-ago prom dates. Some were more successful than others in both the racing results and prom picks. Nothing to be done about the long-past prom, but it may be worthwhile to attend the free classes offered at the track for some assistance. Santa Anita Park, Arcadia, California, is approximately 14 miles Northwest of downtown Los Angeles, and about an hour from Orange County (location of Disneyland) and is noted for its picturesque mountain view setting. The current racing schedule runs from Wednesdays through Sundays with varied times for the first race. It’s best to check the day you want to go for the starting times. The first race can be noon, 12:30 or 1:00 p.m. Good to know: on Thursdays seniors are admitted for free and on Fridays everyone is admitted for ...

By Anjanette Delgado There’s something about Miami. It welcomes you by not making too much of a fuss about you. “Oh, so there you are,” it seems to say. “Great. Dale, Chico. Te veo después y nos tomamos un café." And you know, it’s happy to see you. My favorite spot to welcome the day in all of Miami is not anywhere near the infamous SoBe of the tanned and gorgeous. It’s not on a boat gliding past tall downtown buildings on bayside waters.  It’s sitting on the sidewalk facing the huge, colorful, exhuberant sculpture at the entryway of the otherwise unremarkable Dadeland Metrorail Station in  South Miami. It´s fittingly called “Welcome”and stands amid the light gray concrete on mornings when my own bed wants nothing to do with me and, as my mother would say, “el que me fume, pierde el vicio.” And here´s the trick: you sit on the sidewalk in front of it with your newspaper and your strong, sugary, Cuban coffee… you look at it for awhile… and pretty soon you start to feel happy and… god forbid… optimistic. By then you’ll look a little crazy to couples walking by with their strollers or their dogs, so taking a few ...

By Yeni Alvarez Last Valentine’s Day, I had a tour de force culinary experience.  It started with an invitation to a popular restaurant I had heard of, but was afraid to try.  I’m speaking of Dining in the Dark at OPAQUE. Opaque’s mission is to engage all the senses in a pitch-black dining room, while eager guests are taken from one course to the next, softly guided by their respective blind or visually impaired servers. Let me start from the beginning.  We first walked in to the lounge area and were greeted by friendly staff, who reacted as if they knew something we didn’t when we announced it was our first time.  They knew we were in for a treat. We picked our meal in the dimly lit romantic lounge and waited for our server to guide us to our table.  Behind closed curtains we entered.  Hands on my guide’s shoulder we went, slowly making our way between pockets of fading conversations in a sea of darkness. The maze ended up in a comfortable corner near the entrance to the kitchen. At this point, our ears were still getting adjusted to the mumbling, as we picked up on various voices at the same time, being ...