Have you always wanted to be famous, but know you don’t have what it takes to become a star (i.e. a sex tape where Ray-J pees on you?) Fear not — because on April 24th, we’re all getting famous. No, this does not involve guns, put those down. STOP THAT.

Full disclosure: I’m one of the guys throwing this event. Now here’s how it works: we meet at noon in front of the WME building, where we run a winding, three-mile obstacle course through Beverly Hills. Hidden throughout the course will be packs of photographers. Your goal is to make it to the finish line without them getting a picture of your full face.

Scattered along the way will be hidden caches of “identity concealers”, i.e. low-brimmed hats and those sunglasses that put a black bar over your eyes. (We were going to offer ski masks, and then remembered ski masks + sprinting through Beverly Hills in broad daylight = “Officer, these cuffs are too tight.”)

Got a camera and the ability to be sneaky? We want you. Got a pair of running shoes and a well-developed flight sensibility? We want you. (Costumes are also encouraged.) The race starts at noon, but paparazzi are required to show up at 11 AM so we can get you vultures in your respective hiding places.

Afterward, in a stirring tribute to something that would totally happen in real life, the celebrities and the paparazzi will meet up for a beer at the Writer’s Bar in the L’Ermitage Hotel.

Be sure to RSVP for the event on Facebook.

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WHAT: Celebrities Vs. Paparazzi footrace
WHEN: April 24th, noon-1 PM (Paparazzi to meet at 11 AM)
WHERE: Starting at the WME building
$$$: Free

Last weekend before Halloween! Carve your pumpkins, add your last touches to your costumes, and save room for weekend fun!

• It’s the most wonderful time of the year to watch cheesy slasher films with the Cinefamily!
• Friday night is your last chance to score deals at your favorite restaurants for DineLA.
• Check out Cirque Du Soleil’s new show, Kooza, at the Santa Monica Pier.
• If you love scarves as much as I do, check out LOOMLAB’s fabulous night of scarves and fashion.
• Barnes & Noble is offering up free hot chocolate and cookies tomorrow, so swing by for free treats!
• Definitely my pick of the weekend: the Hello Kitty 35th party at Royal/T. It will be insane.
• If you’re still into Hurley, they’re having a 50% off sale… I wonder why…. :)
• Wax Poetic Gallery is having an opening (recently featured in Sweet Streets: Magnolia Blvd.)
• Want an easy way to score costumes? Check out the vintage sale happening this weekend!
• Want a home made costume instead? Lola has a simple and funny idea in Craftiness.
• If you’re bored & thirsty, hit up Salaryman and expect a bunch of others to do the same!
• Roam around Hyperion Ave., this week’s Sweet Street.
• Nothing is better than Sunday brunch at Millies, from this week’s Bored & Hungry.
• And hey, there is always a concert happening somewhere in this city of ours, read The Soundboard.

Whether it’s for a kid you know or your inner child, you can get a printable coupon for a free kids-size hot chocolate and small cookie this Saturday at Barnes & Noble.  If you hit up a B&N on Saturday, keep an eye out for their other sweet deal of 50% off hundreds of DVDs and Bu-Ray discs.  They’ve already gotten a good chunk of my change.

The sale is going on until Oct 28.  The coupon for sweet yummies is only good for this Saturday, Oct 24 and you can find it by clicking here.

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WHAT: Free Sweet Stuff @ B&N
WHEN: Saturday , October 24th
WHERE: Your local B&N
$$$: Free!

As I mentioned earlier this month, Royal/T is opening their new exhibit, Three Apples, with all things Hello Kitty. And of course they intend to bring you a kick ass opening party with the help of Flux. This isn’t your typical opening party, either. It is a brunch! Head to Culver City for a fabulous day with Hello Kitty themed waffles and pancakes, a live DJ set, special appearances by designers of Hello Kitty and Tokidoki, a jewelry making workshop, a sushi and bento workshop, a 21+ cocktail party, and finally to end the night: a Hello Kitty-oke dance party. This sounds too awesome to be true. Royal/T and Flux never let us down.
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WHAT: Three Apples Opening Party
WHEN: October 24th, 10AM-10PM
WHERE: Royal/T
$$$: Free

Dudes and dudettes, get your wallets at the ready.  Hurley is totally having a sale this Saturday at the headquarters in Costa Mesa.  It’s a bit of a drive from LA, holmes, but it’s 50% off everything and it’ll give you an excuse to hang with those OC friends you’re always saying you’ll visit.  Past sales suggest a wide selection of t-shirts, shorts, swimwear, sandals, and more, broham.

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WHAT: Hurley Friends/Family/Neighbors Sale
WHEN: Saturday, October 24th @ 10AM-5PM
WHERE: Hurley HQ
$$$: 50% off all merch

Why can’t Los Angeles baseball teams win when they get to division series? Let’s hope they both prove me wrong by the time this is read by the two people that read it. On to music.

PICK OF THE WEEK

I’m gonna make this easy on myself. Go see Grizzly Bear tomorrow.

If you like music, than I’m sure you’ve heard of the band. It seems like they’ve been all over the place lately. They released an extremely popular album earlier this year with Veckatimest, they’ve been touring and playing at festivals nonstop all summer, and they’ve even got a song on the upcoming (and really good) New Moon soundtrack. But don’t let the fact that they seem to be the new kings of indie rock be the only deciding factor. Go see Grizzly Bear tomorrow at the Palladium because they just sound awesome.

I saw them earlier on this year at the Troubadour and I was floored. Their sound is just so melodic and tight. I couldn’t decide if I preferred hearing Dan Rossen or Ed Droste sing cause both sound so good. And the whole band’s ability to harmonize with one another and with the music just cannot be explained in words. Bottom line is you just gotta go see Grizzly Bear tomorrow.

So. I haven’t really said much about the band and I don’t think I have to. Hopefully I said enough with that first sentence (and the subsequent repeating of the statement at the end of every paragraph.). Go see Grizzly Bear tomorrow.

OTHER SHOWS TO LOOK OUT FOR:
10/19: Correatown w/Charlie Wadhams/Deerheart/The Hereafter at the echo. 8:30PM. Free. 21+. (More Correatown residency.)
10/19: Light FM w/His Orchestra/The Meeting Places/Lost Lake at Spaceland. 8:30PM. Free. 21+. (Light FM residency.)
10/20: Noah and the Whale w/Robert Francis at the Roxy. 8:00PM. $17. All. (Noah and the Whale are pretty fun.)
10/20: Why? w/AU/Serengeti & Polyphonic at the echoplex. 8:00PM. $15. All. (Why? are pretty cool.)
10/21: Choir of Young Believers w/Buddy/Make Moon at Spaceland. 8:30PM. $8. 21+. (I’d go see these guys if I were you.)
10/22: Thee Oh Sees w/Fresh & Onlys/Dan Melchior at the echo. 8:30PM. $12. 18+. (I’m a huge fan of Thee Oh Sees. You will be too once you see em.)
10/22: Liam Finn + Eliza Jane w/Jason Lytle/The 88 at the echoplex. 8:30PM. $16. 18+. (A little softer sound than the show going on upstairs at the echo.)
10/23: Ben Gibbard and Jay Farrar at the El Rey. 8:00PM. $26. All. (Playing songs from their Kerouac album.)
10/23: Kurt Vile and the Violators w/White Arrows/Under the Asbury at Spaceland. 8:30PM. $10. 21+. (Kurt Vile is starting to get more attention.)
10/23: Jeremy Jay w/Sea Lions/The Cigarette Bums at the Smell. 8:00PM. $5. All. (Jeremy Jay is weird.)
10/24: Abe Vigoda w/These are Powers/Mi Ami/Moses Campbell at the Smell. 8:00PM. $7. All. (Abe Vigoda at the Smell.)
10/24: Islands w/Toro Y Moi/Jemina Pearl at the Troubadour. 8:00PM. $18. All. (This’ll be fun.)
10/24: Daniel Johnston at the Fonda. 8:00PM. $25. All. (The guy is kind of legendary now.)
10/25: Tegan and Sara at Orpheum. 7:00PM. $39. All. (I like what I’ve heard of their new album.)

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WHAT: Grizzly Bear
WHEN: Tuesday, October 20th @7:00PM
WHERE: The Hollywood Palladium
$$$: $26.50
Ages: All

I was at the Santa Monica Pier last night and noticed a GIANT blue and yellow tent had taken over most of the parking lot.  What could it be?  Cirque Du Soleil, of course!  Starting Friday and continuing through the end of November, Santa Monica will host Kooza, a circus spectacular that tells the story of “the Innocent, a melancholy loner in search of his place in the world.”

Tickets are a little pricey, but Cirque du Soleil is definitely worth the cost of admission.  If you’ve never been, take a second to look at the trailer…it’s the circus for grownups and without the smelly elephants.  You’ll see contortionists, charivari, highwire acts and more.

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WHAT: Kooza
WHERE: Santa Monica Pier
WHEN: Friday, September 16 – November 29th
$$$: Tickets start from $65.00

Ok, so Burbank is super lame, super white, super conservative, blah blah blah. Believe me, I know. It’s like this tiny world stuck in the 50’s in the middle of the valley, like a set from one of the studios’ back lots in town. Next door is Hollywood, but it sure doesn’t feel that way. Even in this cookie cutter town, there’s still some chocolate chips sticking out in the dough, like Magnolia Blvd. Crossing into North Hollywood, the walkable section between Buena Vista and Cahuenga has been pretty legit for some time now, with a gallery beauty fusion salon, tasty treats, and a plethora of thrift shops to keep you busy til next Halloween.

Let’s start from the Buena Vista end and work our way over to North Hollywood with Rocket Fizz. Hey, just what this old fashioned town needs: a vintage soda shop! Complete with vintage candy and vintage employees. Ok, not really, but that would be cool. You can get pretty much any kind of soda and candy you could ever want, and even some helpful sampler packs of soda with a bunch of stuff to try. I prefer this place to BevMo considering it’s smaller, locally-owned, and much more exciting with all the candies! If you’re still in the mood for sweets, you should try some Yummy Cupcakes complete with collections of cute candles to add to your order! Their red velvet is to die for. It gained popularity during the cupcake explosion of Southern California in 2007/2008. You can also stop by Porto’s Bakery for some Cuban baked goods like their meat pies and gigantic fruit tarts. This place is CONSTANTLY packed so call ahead if you can. For lunch orders there’s a minimum of four sandwiches I believe, and I would highly recommend their pan con lechon (pulled pork with onions) and POTATO BALLS!… juicy and delicious.

For your grocery needs, the corner of Buena Vista and Magnolia Blvd. is home to Burbank’s favorite locally-grown market: Handy Market. It is quite handy indeed… although a bit pricier than Ralphs (we all can’t be a gigantic superstore), this store offers a great selection of food, included pretty much every kind of BBQ sauce ever. Seriously, check out their collection. Why the focus on BBQ sauce? Well on the weekends they have an outdoor BBQ with ribs and chicken and tri tip! There are always line but the wait is worth it! You can even order some over the phone! Plus the deli inside serves really delicious sandwiches on fresh bread with very fresh ingredients. Their meat is superb. Did I just say superb? You can catch a peak of the market in He’s Just Not That Into You, where Bradley Cooper meets ScarJo’s character for the first time, and their sultry love affair begins. (Kindaaa watched this movie 700 times).

Now on to shopping. Excellent thrifty shops over here. Ok, American Way is probably the only true thrift shop, but there are some “used” clothing shops like It’s A Wrap (clothes previously worn in films and TV shows: dress like Christina Applegate! If you fit in her stuff…), a recycled clothing store called Swift, and the famous Hubba Hubba with really expensive but AWESOME vintage clothes. Although unless you’re seriously interested, don’t touch anything. The owner may hurt you. These things are expensive, mind you. I spend my time at American Way for little crafty things, or a funny 80’s outfit and usually I find some great T-Shirts in the little boys section. A few doors down is Swift, a very cute little shop owned by a 20-something girl (correct me if I’m wrong), with a bunch of homemade outfits and accessories. She takes old clothes and makes them cool again. I want everything in that store!

As day turns to night, hopefully you’re able to catch an art opening at Wax Poetic Salon. Yeah, you heard me right, salon. By day this place is a cute and trendy little salon with great hairdressers, skin specialists, manicurists, professional waxers (ow), and even some henna artists! There is another room and tiny bar that turns into a gallery. They get really cool art here, it’s not just little kids from the local boys and girls club… it’s real artists and a lot of local talent. Their openings are always free and pretty fun… with a DJ, drinks, sometimes cheese, and merch on sale from the artists. The gallery is tiny, but it works. Check out their next opening on October 24th featuring the monstrous work of Dan DeVries in honor of Halloween!

It may be stuck in the twilight zone, but Magnolia Blvd. is still pretty sweet!

Want to suggest a sweet street? E-mail us!