Eyestrology: Happy Birthday Leo! by Cici Psy-Chic

For the month of 7/22/14-8/22/14

Happy birthday to these celebrity July Leos: Selena Gomez (6/22), Daniel Radcliffe (7/23), Jennifer Lopez (7/24), Matt LeBlanc (7/25), Sandra Bullock (7/26), Norman Lear (7/27), Lori Loughlin (7/28), Josh Radnor (7/29), Vivica A. Fox (7/30), J.K. Rowling (7/31)

Celebrity August Leos: Coolio (8/1), Mary-Louise Parker (8/2), Martha Stewart (8/3), President Barack Obama (8/4), Maureen McCormick (8/5), Soleil Moon Frye (8/6), Charlize Theron (8/7), Dustin Hoffman (8/8), Sam Elliott (8/9), Antonio Banderas (8/10), Chris Hemsworth (8/11), George Hamilton (8/12), Danny Bonaduce (8/13), Mila Kunis (8/14), Jennifer Lawrence (8/15), Steve Carell (8/16), Robert De Niro (8/17), Edward Norton (8/18), John Stamos (8/19), Demi Lovato (8/20), Kenny Rogers (8/21), Tori Amos (8/22)

Most signs will be meeting new people and starting off romantic relationships through the rest of summer. Just when we least expect it, someone interesting will cross our paths if we pursue it. This is a good time to reconnect with old friends or take family vacations. Don't be surprised if someone from the past contacts out of the blue. We would do well to be open-minded and as flexible as possible. Be willing to hear another point of view even if it challenges our beliefs. For those who cannot travel too far, try to leave room enough for fun and play and lots of surprises.

“The Way You Look Tonight” is a Ménage of Laughs by M.R. Hunter

Emmy Award-winning writer Peter Lefcourt's world premiere stirs up romantic relations between a pair of divorcees rekindling their passions, much to the surprise of themselves and their oblivious partners. Light-hearted, sometimes saucy and farcical, the humor doesn't always manage to override the unbelievable plot twists, but most of the pleasure is in the ride itself.

Imaginatively directed by Terri Hanauer, this quatuor or unlikely foursome accompanied by a narrator, "call him Ishmael," are a contrast of opposites, which of course lends to the comedy. The characters come with enough baggage to illicit a few good chuckles based solely on their caricature qualities one finds in successful sitcoms. Lefcourt takes great pains to setup the wild romp when the exes agree to a dinner while showing off their newly minted arm candy trophies.

No Age Punk Band Curates the Getty's Friday Flight 7/18

 

 

Friday Flights is a collaboration between the Getty and a featured musician or cultural tastemaker who creates a specially curated evening inspired by an exhibition on view at the Museum. The third flight this summer is inspired by The Scandalous Art of James Ensor and will be hosted by No Age, an experimental punk band that emerged from Los Angeles skate culture and DIY venues and now collaborates with contemporary artists on alternative performance concepts.
 
The series takes its inspiration from the format of a tasting flight, where several flavors, perhaps of wine or beer, or in this case art, can be sampled and compared. Each host is asked to invite friends and collaborators to develop the evening's program, bringing together a network of Los Angeles-based musicians, visual artists, and more for a vibrant evening of sounds and sights. 

Strawberry Blast-Off Cake, Charles Phoenix Test Kitchen by Charles Phoenix

Frankly, I spend more time that I would care to admit daydreaming new cake recipes to try in my trustworthy Charles Phoenix Test Kitchen.

Recently I’ve been thinking of a very pink strawberry cake. Something cheerful that would be prefect served to cake-loving friends and family celebrating the July 4th Holiday. So I marched to the nearest supermarket and filled the basket with all things strawberry; fresh strawberries, frozen strawberries, strawberry cake mix and strawberry ice cream. YUM!

And because everybody knows strawberries go SO well with cheesecake, I threw in one of Sara Lee’s finest, too.

Ford Amphitheatre: Restored & Ready for Summer Shows by M.R. Hunter

Nestled in the Cahuenga Pass just off the 101 Freeway (across from the Hollywood Bowl), the John Anson Ford Theatres complex boasts a 1,196-seat amphitheatre in its verdant environs and an intimate, 87-seat indoor theater, deceptively obscured when viewed from the street by the foliage and the design which incorporates the architecture into the natural scenery. But for the eye-catching marquee overlooking the parking lot on Cahuenga Blvd., locals are not always aware of what or where the theatres are, let alone how much history is contained up in the hills. It's an interesting dilemma, one that lends further charm and otherworldliness to the grounds upon entering.

At almost a century old, the amphitheatre was first built in 1920 as a humble wooden stage. Christine Wetherill Stevenson, a writer and heiress of the Pittsburgh Paint Company purchased the land as the site for where The Pilgrimage Play would be performed until 1964. Erected in 1923, in honor of Miss Stevenson is the 32-foot-high cross which glows at night like a beacon and serves as a curious landmark between the boundary of Hollywood and Universal City.