Cheap Date: Tiny Vaudeville

One of my favorite non-profits, Valencia 826, had a benefit show for their L.A. branch at the Echoplex in Echo Park Monday night and me and the DH went to check it out. They were calling it Tiny Vaudeville and it was basically a very hip, clever, and entertaining variety show consisting of actors, comedians, singers, and a headlining band. They're hoping to make it an ongoing thing, featuring new acts the last Monday of every month. If you're interested in checking it out next month (2/23), you can get tickets here. Or you can be a cheap date, like me, and wait to see if they show up on goldstar.com.

What exactly would you be supporting? I'll let the founder of 826, Dave Eggers, tell you himself:



Yes, I still have a mad crush on Eggers. In fact, here are those autographs I mentioned in an earlier post in which I divulge that crush.












But, in all seriousness, I think I found a natural affinity for this organization because I'm an editor of textbooks, a former tutor, and someone with a lot of teachers in my family, and because I grew up in an area plagued with economically challenged families and schools. I just really love what they're doing and how they're doing it.

If you do go to Tiny Vaudeville, there are a couple of decent restaurants with reasonably priced menus in the area and lots of good authentic Mexican food counters and stands. We tried Masa and were pretty pleased. When we get down that way again, we may try Taix or Rodeo Mexican Grill. (All are on Sunset.)

Other Cheap Date posts

1st Anniversary

This past Friday marked the one-year anniversary of the day Matt and I got married . . .




Wedding - October 24, 2007










Ohio Reception - May 17, 2008









California Reception - June 1, 2008









Massachusetts Reception - August 17. 2008




After all the wedding celebrations, it was nice to have a very low-key anniversary celebration. We just took the day off, caught a couple of matinee movies, and had a nice dinner out. Sushi - yum. Keeping with anniversary tradition, we both gave each other paper gifts. I wrote Matt a poem. (Sorry, won't be sharing that. That's his and his alone.) And I also gave him two books:

The Hungry Scientist Handbook, by Patrick Buckley and Lily Binns, seemed right up his alley because he loves to analyze cooking techniques and recipes in scientific terms. (He adores Alton Brown's show Good Eats.) After I'd already purchased the Buckley/Binns book, I saw this article about another great science-focused cooking book. Doh! Sounds better. I guess I'll just have to get that for him next.

Matt read his first graphic novel several months ago (Persepolis) and really liked it. He'd heard that this graphic novel, Watchmen, is being touted as the best graphic novel bar none, so he was really curious about it.







And Matt gave me these three books:

At different times, Matt and I have read entire books aloud to each other. It's a really neat experience to share. The first time we did it was with Kurt Vonnegut's Galapagos, but we also did it with The Best American Non-Required Reading, 2003, edited by Dave Eggers. I'm hoping How We Are Hungry, another collection of short stories, will be another we read to each other. I'm a big fan of Eggers - the author . . . and the man. Matt knows this because he stood in line with me forever waiting for Eggers to sign my books and was totally amused by the fact that I shamelessly flirted with him once I got up there. The people in line in front of me wanted him to sign their books, but they weren't even talking to him. (I think they were the type who collect signed books regardless of whether or not they liked or had read the author. Their books were probably up on Ebay later that same day.) By the time I got up there, the poor guy was totally bored, so he drew a piece of balsa wood on the title page of one of my books (in addition to signing it). I told him he could make the other one out to "a fellow sock-slider" (an A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius reference). He gave me a big smile and wrote "Sock Sliding = En Fuego." Wood? Fire? He was so hot for me. ;)

View with a Grain of Sand, by Wislawa Szymborska, is one of my favorite books of poetry. Because I love it so much, about a year ago, I found myself in one of those moments where you're torn between wanting to share something and selfishly wanting to keep it for yourself for fear that it won't be returned. Well, I'm happy to say I decided to share, . . . but what I feared would happen did happen. It was never returned. Matt knows how much I love it, so he bought this as a replacement. I'm still not opposed to sharing, . . . but I will be more careful about it in the future.

Sharon Olds is probably my all-time favorite poet. I've got just about all of her books, but The Dead and the Living is one that I didn't have.








And, a gift to myself while we were out and about celebrating:

Kay Ryan is the current poet laureate. I had read, and heard her reading, some of her work online, but I really wanted to get one of her books. Unfortunately, there was a run on them when she was first announced the new laureate; many bookstores had to wait to get more until the publisher could crank out another print run. Then, of course, there's the usual problem of most bookstores just not carrying much poetry to begin with. So, I was very pleased to finally find a decent selection when we were out on Friday, and, after inspecting three, I chose this one - Elephant Rocks. I'm loving it so far. And it's kind of funny because my style of writing poetry is very similar to hers - well, except that she does it brilliantly and I'm a hack.