Not-so-Vanilla Diva

ODD WEDNESDAYS, the new, live, bimonthly comedy and music variety show returns on Wednesday, March 31st, 2010 @ 9:30PM at the famous Ivan Kane’s Café Was featuring an amazing lineup of talented bands, singer-songwriters, and comedians coming together for the newest comedy & music showcase in Hollywood.  The March 31st All Star event will feature the house band Old Blues Eyes with stellar performances by Mark DeCarlo, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy Horns, Brad Sherwood, John Ernst, Jimmy & Joey, Hempstead Nursery, Erin Ragland, Roxanne Ferrara, and the house band Old Blues Eyes. Show starts at 9:30PM and there is NO COVER CHARGE. Ivan Kane’s CAFÉ WAS is located at 1521 N. Vine St. Hollywood, CA.  For artists individual bios please see below or visit the Facebook Page: ODD WEDNESDAYS & www.oddwednesdays.com WHO: Presented by Mark DeCarlo and Ivan Kane’s CAFE WAS WHAT: ODD WEDNESDAYS at Café Was: A bi-monthly comedy & music show featuring established A-List performers and artists, together with a select up-and-coming singer/songwriters, providing Hollywood with a unique show every month. The March 31st event will feature performances by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy Horns, Mark DeCarlo, Brad Sherwood, John Ernst, Jimmy & Joey, Hempstead Nursery, Erin Ragland, Roxanne Ferrara, ...

By Josie Villa-Singleton a.k.a Travelista Rail Europe recently began promoting The Eurostar high speed train that runs from London to Paris. November 14 marked the start of the new service provided by Eurostar which decreases travel time by 20 minutes (at speeds of up to 186 mph), making the journey from London to Paris 2 hours and 15 minutes. Tickets for the journey vary in price ranging from $97 to $400 depending on when the ticket is booked and what class seat is selected. The cheeky “get a little Paris with your London” Rail Europe campaign touts that “…you’ll be drinking wine in Paris while the lager foam from London is still on your lips”. The accompanying website provides a cute game where you can create “mashups” of London and Parisian animated icons. You can even enter your own mashup version of London and Parisian symbols or icons for a chance to win a trip to London that includes a stay in Paris via the Eurostar of course. Trains leave from the refurbished and central (near Oxford Circus and Covent Garden) St. Pancras station in London ...

By Josie Villa-Singleton a.k.a. Travelista I last attended the mayhem that is Paris Fashion Week two years ago.   I’ve since learned a lot about pulling an outfit together by scouring the photos of fashion magazine editors and tastemakers that I took during that trip.  Seeing how the most fashionable women in the world show up to fashion shows can inform our choices when it comes time to pack our bags for a trip.  Though these photos are from seasons past they still contain valuable information. 1.     Black is always in fashion Attendees of fashion shows and Europeans in general favor black and dark colors. Choosing mostly black clothing makes packing easier and of course black clothing flatters and camouflages our figures. Look for items made in travel friendly materials such as synthetic blends: rayon, polyester, lyocell, etc. Accessories keep the look from being boring. Both these looks are easy to pull off. Tight but stretchy skinny black pants, an interesting black tee. Top it off with a long, loose cardigan and a necklace. 2. Fashion remains Neutral If all black is not your thing ...

“Odd was hilarious!” said Mindy Vargas, as she walked out the door near Sunset & Vine, vowing to be back in 2 weeks.  She was talking about the new music/variety show "Odd Wednesdays" taking up residence at Ivan Kane's Cafe Was every odd numbered Wednesday night. Cafe Was is the latest jewel in Kane's crown - the bold impresario behind the LA and Vegas incarnations of the retro-burlesque "40 Deuce."  His new place, a 'Bohemian Bistro' in Hollywood at Sunset & Vine has been open 15 months and is hitting its stride just as the weather turns warmer and people are venturing out of their homes.  With live entertainment, including burlesque Thursday through Sunday, Kane was open to something different while expanding his entertainment to Wednesdays. And that's what he got. TV host Mark DeCarlo, best known from the dating show Studs and more recently, "Taste of America," a comedic food show on the Travel Channel, was back home in LA and itching to do another live show.  "TV's Mark Walberg and I used to host a variety show at the Atlas Suppler club, adjacent to the Wiltern Theater a few years ago. It was a combination of comedy, improv, variety acts ...

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 ...