Dia de Los Muertos

It’s that time of the year again. Came across people setting up their altars at Olvera Street during my lunch break yesterday.

Sometimes I think The Day of the Dead and Halloween are just opposite sides of the same coin. Halloween has evolved into a celebration of that which we fear– The Other, The Unknown. So we dress up and pretend to be monsters, vampires, serial killers in hockey masks. For one night, we are The Unknown.

I think Dia de Los Muertos is different in that it zeroes in on The Great Unknown, the Ultimate Boogeyman– Death.

The Downtown Block Party

 

All-girl band The Like tearing it up at the block party!

 Last Saturday, we had a blast at the first annual Old Bank District Block Party . Lots of good Vietnamese food (Blossom)  good music (The Like, Whispertown 2000, The Afternoons) and some very tasty desserts (Blu L.A.) made my night.  Joining Riley and me were my good friends Randie and Anthony, who braved the streets of downtown with us in search of adventure and fun.

Day of the Dead 2008

“Let us endeavor so to live that when we come
to die, even the undertaker will be sorry.”
- Mark Twain

Despite the threat of stormy skies, we joined thousands of other Angelenos at the Day of the Dead festivities at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.  I’ve been to the event before, so I knew to expect bad traffic, horrible parking, and large crowds– you know, the usual L.A. fare. 

Halloween Idea #3: Dr. Horrible Will See You Now (Or Is That The Other Way Around?)

Me and Riley have a soft spot for any would-be-supervillain with a Ph.D. in horribleness,

Halloween Idea #2: Horror Movie Fest @ The Imaginasian

 

There’s something I have to confess: I’ve lost my horror film mojo.

It was easy when I was younger. I used to revel in the cheap scares, at victims’ desperate cries for help, and at the ridiculous amounts of blood spurting out of vital arteries. 

But somewhere along the way, I lost my nerve.