A bevy of unflattering taffeta and lace prom dresses, sculpted teenage boy hair, exploding heads, an axe murderer, aliens from outer space, a vengeful tough guy cop, frat pranks, cryogenics, flame throwers, grotesque slugs, zombie cats (and dogs), and even some brief nudity and a touching young man friendship… yep there’s a lot to love about The Night of the Creeps.

I put the movie at the top of my queue due to comparisons to The Night of the Comet, my personal favorite movie of the genre; that genre being tongue-in-cheek horror comedy that’s not afraid to offer genuine scares as well as laughs. The Stuff and Scream are also prime examples.

And while you may have heard of those last two films, even a movie nerd like myself was less aware of this funky little 80’s gem. Partially because it wasn’t released on DVD until October of last year (which was also the reason why it’s been on my queue with a very long wait for months), though bootleg VHS copies of the movie were passed around among fans and sold on eBay for years.

Of course, it is what it is and I don’t want to over-hype. It’s fun, it’s a great way to take your mind of anything for a couple hours, and it’s the best work of Fred Dekker who also helmed House, Robocop 3, and The Monster Squad (which didn’t hold up quite as well as I had hoped).

The charming Dr Seuss oddity, The Seven Lady Godivas, was actually a failure when it was published in 1939 and in fact, it’s failure led Seuss to turn to writing for children full time. But the years have been kind to this quirky tale of the Godiva family of women, pursued by the Peeping brothers and going about their lives as naked as they were born. The book is currently out of print, my sister got an older edition for her husband for Christmas, but it’s worth seeking out for fans of Seuss’ rhymes and illustrations.

Aquarela do Brasil, which is the most famous song from the namesake country, most vividly calls to mind the disutopia of Terry Gilliam’s psycho baby mask, plastic surgery, and radically bombed vision. However its been adopted, covered, and used so many places by so many people you might be more familiar with it from the Disney goes Latin animation Saludos Amigos or the discofied version by this week’s style icons The Ritchie Family. No matter the version you listen to though, you feel the strong urge to sway your hips and take a plane to warmer climates (accompanied creepy images of squashed bugs and huge golden Samurais if you still can’t get the Gilliam association out of your head).

Christopher Kane’s collection for the Versace little sister line, Versus has a definite point of view. Limited but bold in shape, details and color, it makes quite an impact and even if most of us can’t pull of all the body con, it makes me long for the full skirts he calls “cupcake” skirts, more turquoise and bright red in my wardrobe and stylishly sci-fi bombshell cut out necklines. His grommet, alligator, and neon collection for Topshop was equally yummy though a bit outside my budget sadly.

Headdresses, satin appliqued capes, feathers, gold leather, football pads, teeny bikinis, looking like leather boys and lady like business women – of course The Ritchie Family is my style icon of the week after capturing my attention. The Philadelphia disco queens had several hits off their concept albums in the 70’s, but sadly, I have to admit until now I’d never heard of them.
But better late than never when the song is a yelping disco rendition of Brazil (wonder if Terry Gilliam ever considered it instead for his movie). The song, as you can imagine is this week’s pick of the week in that category. Below/after the jump is a gallery of the fantastic fashions.

Amazing Mexican food is suppose to be a dime a dozen in the city of angels, but Loteria Grill, so far, is the most memorable I’ve had. With an appropriate loteria card design motif (Loteria, if your curious as I was is played much like bingo but in a far prettier package), dim flattering lighting, and a menu that makes one drool just to read it, the fairly recently opened restaurant is a pleasant spot in a neighborhood that boasts restaurants of the cheesier kind. Beginning as a beloved counter top at the Farmer’s Market, owner Jimmy Shaw’s now burgeoning empire includes the Hollywood location we ate at as well as a newer Studio City branch.

The meal began with a crazily addictive salsa which I would have loved to bring home a tub of, and progressed with incredible tacos, Jim and I ordered Papa con Rajas (Potatoes with Roasted Poblano Peppers Served with Finely Chopped Onion and Cilantro, Queso Fresco, and Salsa Verde), Nopalitos (Fresh Cactus Salad. Served with Salsa Verde and Queso Fresco), Pollo en Pipian Rojo (Chicken in a Spicy Pumpkin-Seed and Peanut Sauce Served with Finely Chopped Onion), and Carne deshebrada (Shredded Beef Served with Fresh Guacamole, Salsa Chipotle, and Finely Chopped Onion and Cilantro). All were exceptional, the last one was insane. I’ve heard they offer great margaritas but with jet lag and an early flight, I opted for a tasty aguas frescas.

We went late on a quite weeknight and had no problems getting a table, but it’s normally wise to book a table.

Pomegranate, sea salt and chipotle oh my! Not necessarily the flavors you associated with caramel but the award winning artisan caramel maker Robin Bequet from Montana thinks inventively when it comes to her soft sweet candies that friend Jessica was gracious enough to give me a box of for my birthday. They are spectacular.

If you know Chris Morris, you probably know him from the precursor to The Daily Show, The Day Today or from his more extreme and controversial Brass Eye. While the epically strange radio show Blue Jam has bits of that off the wall take on real life humour (a woman describing organized baby fights for example) this is a far, far more somber and surreal trip than faux documentary tends to offer up.

I received this well sought after (well, among a small subsection of American Chris Morris fans) in a very serendipitous way. I had stumbled across its existence while researching Snuff Box and no more than a few weeks later, our dear friend Matthew (who often has cult and rare pop culture goodies to share) had it ready for my hot little hand without me ever mentioning it once.

The sometimes hypnotic, constantly inappropriate, and poetically absurd show, of which there are hours and hours of, is nearly indescribable, which I realize is extremely lazy to say, especially when you are trying to describe it to others but there you are. It also, particularly if you are already on the darker side of moody, puts you in one hell of a head space. It is hilarious in its own way but I’d be extremely weary of who you might recommend it to. While it grows on me more and more, I think this could be one of the most brilliant finds I’ve had in a while, it is beyond being an acquired taste.

It’s a tradition I adhere to every year. I fantasize and pick the dress I’d wear to the Oscars. It’s usually more fun than watching the thing. Of course, I couldn’t resist delving into the Alexander McQueen archives in light of the tragic loss. This black lace and white peacock frock is just one shining example of the magic he brought to the world of fashion.

Post your fantasy outfit as a comment!

We don’t drive into the city too, too often but when we do, this little nifty site, Best Parking has saved us a ton. Some parking lots end up costing a small fortune while others right next door are half the price or even less! Without this tool, I’d never know and have gotten smacked upside the head with a $40 price tag once – which was one time too many – to not use this site.

I adore anything to do with Werner Herzog so the idea of him lending his existential fatalism to children’s books makes me happy. I kind of wish they had gotten the actual Herzog, just because I adore his voice and even a decent impersonation doesn’t compare, still that’s splitting hairs, and comedian Ryan Iverson does get the language right as he expounds on the maturing rituals of young French girls. By the way I also found this video of Herzog shrugs off a bullet wound mid interview. The man is insane and wonderful!

This warming Salmon Egg Drop soup is a prefect hybrid of seafood chowder and egg drop. It’s filling and even got Jim to eat spinach with a smile. Plus all the ingredients have virus fighting super power!

Look, there’s nothing extraordinary about the roller derby fluff that is Whip It, but it’s so endearing and uses the many sports movie cliches to its advantage that I found myself (surprisingly) completely enjoying it. After all, sometimes you just want a cliched feel-good movie that delivers exactly you what you expect. Unfortunately, most movies of this nature (think The Blind Side) are terrible and unwatchable – so I guess the fact that Whip It manages to be such a pleasant, easy movie is, in its own way, quite extraordinary.

The cast is good: you can’t go wrong with a bitchy Juliette Lewis nor a handsome Andrew Wilson, and Kristen Wiig is charming as usual. Strangely, as with any movie she’s behind, Drew Barrymore’s performance is off (though not as bad as the cellar door scene in Donnie Darko) – but she deserves credit for her easy-going direction; Marcia Gay Harden, in a role that could have been shrewish and dis-likable, is as complex as the movie can handle as a beauty-contest-loving mother.

Definitely worth a rent for those of us that enjoy a girly teen romp where the teenage girls are neither movie style skanks nor bumbling, giggly idiots; I’m bummed so few teenage girls went to the theaters to to catch this one.

Shaun let us borrow his copy of LA Bizarro for our recent action-packed trip to LA (of which you’ll be hearing about over the next few weeks here) and it certainly made for a more interesting adventure; as you’ll discover after a quick flip through the pages, it’s no G-rated family vacation guide.

One entire section is devoted to all things porn and another to locations where horrific crimes took place. Laura, who was reading it in the back seat, punctuated our drive with exclamations of horror induced by the unnecessary and constant references to glory holes.

But beyond the beyond the pale, there’s a lot in these pages worth checking out from magic spell components to sailor-themed bars, and enough recommendations that I still have many saved up for my next trip.

As the last flurries of one of the biggest snow storms in city history go floating past my window, I feel compelled to listen to (and recommend) a winter-time song, possibly my favorite winter-time song: Hazy Shade of Winter, which, as a maniac fanatic of the Bangles, was first introduced to me when it appeared on the Less Than Zero soundtrack.

But more than that, this song holds a memory from my school days. I was the new-ish kid in school and the talent show was approaching. The most popular girls with the biggest bangs (Holly and Molly) needed one last person to round out the lip-syncing magic they were to unveil at the sixth grade class talent show. They cornered me in the bathroom and asked/insisted I play the part of Michael or as they called her “the ugly one”. Naturally I complied and someplace in the depths of my parents house, a VHS tape of the mediocre results just might still exist.

An older and wiser me discovered that the song was originally performed by Simon & Garfunkel with a softer touch.

What? You’ve never heard of Bixby Key Fedderly… you are so last week! This handsome little fella, 7 lbs and 11 ounces, 20.5 inches long, born Saturday Feb 27th at 5:21pm is my brand new, perfect nephew. He’s got the softest chubby cheeks in the world and is totally chill.

I am so proud of my sister who (sans epidural) had the little guy out within just a few hours at the hospital. I plan to be the greatest auntie in the world!!

Though Erdem has been around for a few years and the collections have been consistently nice (as I look back into the archives), it’s only recently that the line made a huge bleep on my radar. I’ve looked and re-looked at his Fall 10 collection over and over finding more to love each time: with florals, body flattering shapes, and lace the clothes are pretty and feminine without being gloopy and rote; I love the voluminous puff sleeves and bell skirts as well as that dreamy grey lace.

One of designer Erdem Moralioglu’s inspirations was one of Jim’s favorite films, Picnic at Hanging Rock which friend Ashleigh posted stills of a while back on RC.