Natural History Museum Welcomes Back Dinos

By Charly SHELTON The dinos are back. After six years, they are finally back. For a paleontologist who will specialize in Mesozoic fossils, this is heaven. The new exhibit is in a different wing of the Natural History Museum and it is an amazing exhibit. The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles has one of […]

The Austrian Connection: Avanti String Quartet plays Zemlinsky and Schubert

By Ted AYALA The name of composer Alexander von Zemlinsky (1871-1942), when it’s remembered – if it’s remembered at all – is usually as a footnote in the biographies of more famous musicians: as a close friend of Brahms in the elder composer’s final years, as teacher and brother-in-law of Arnold Schoenberg, as teacher – […]

“Marvin Does Marvin” at the Pasadena Pops July 23

By Ted AYALA Marvin Hamlisch, renowned composer and winner of three Oscars, will be conducting a program of his own music with the Pasadena Pops Orchestra on Saturday. Included in the program will be selections from the Broadway show “A Chorus Line,” the film “The Sting” (for which Hamlisch provided witty arrangements of Scott Joplin […]

Preparing for Nerd Paradise: Comic-Con 2011

Preparing for Nerd Paradise: Comic-Con 2011

By Charly SHELTON Christmas is a joyous time for Christians all over the world. Chanukah is a celebration for all Jews. Halloween brings happiness to goth fans once a year. Or as close to happy as they can get. And for nerds, there is only one time all year when we can truly celebrate, where […]

Milestone Theatre Presents “Distracted” at the Pasadena Playhouse

By Ted AYALA Shortly before the Milestone Theatre’s June 30 through July 10 run of Lisa Loomer’s “Distracted” at the Pasadena Playhouse’s Carrie Hamilton Theatre, I came across an oddly prescient article in the New York Review of Books. Under the title, “The Epidemic of Mental Illness: Why?” Marcia Angell reviewed a clutch of books […]

By Charly SHELTON Just to start off, let me say I am a huge Green Lantern fan. I have read all the comics and I wear the ring every day, no matter what. I am dressing as Hal Jordan at Comic Con and I will say the oath every chance I get, whether it is […]

Glendale Pops Swings at the Americana

By Ted AYALA Matt Catingub and the Glendale Pops Orchestra were a snug fit amidst the retro-themed décor of the Americana at Brand during their “Summer Night Swing” concert on Thursday night, June 30. The Americana’s architecture, a kind of idealized throwback to art deco styles of the 1920s and 1930s, was a most convivial […]

“Duke Nukem Forever” Finally Arrives

By Michael WORKMAN On April 28, 1997 game developer 3D Realms announced the sequel to the popular PC title “Duke Nukem 3D” entitled “Duke Nukem Forever.” But due to release date pushbacks, a game engine overhaul and legal conflicts, “Duke Nukem Forever,” it seemed, would never reach store shelves. Since its announcement, it has become […]

Classical Underground at the Levitt Pavilion

By Ted AYALA Under a tapestry of moonlight and stars on Saturday night, Classical Underground presented a mixed program of chamber and vocal music at Pasadena’s Levitt Pavilion in Memorial Park. The program was a zesty mix of composers from different eras and genres: from Vivaldi to Scriabin, from Lutoslawski to Leonard Bernstein. Trumpeters Courtney […]