New Year's Weekly What To Do : Two Things, I Mean Really, It's Still Dead Out There

128th Rose Parade

Monday, Jan 2

8am 

Colorado Boulevard

Pasadena

Special seats cost $ 

*Not happening New Year's day, they don't do Sundays

 

The 128th Rose Parade presented by Honda begins at 8:00AM on MONDAY, January 2, 2017 and will feature floral floats, spirited marching bands and high-stepping equestrian units along the 5 1/2 mile route down Colorado Boulevard. Experience – in person – the magic of New Year’s Day in an unrivaled celebration, exclusive to the streets of Pasadena!

 

Oshogatsu (New Year's) in Little Tokyo 2017

Sunday, Jan 1

Little Tokyo

Free

 

The Japanese Chamber of Commerce Foundation is proud to host the 19th annual “Oshogatsu in Little Tokyo” on January 1, 2017. This event was started in 1998 to introduce members of the Japanese American community and the general American public to the wonderful traditions of the New Year Celebration in Japan. In conjunction with many different community organizations, we have already started working hard to make it the best Oshogatsu event ever!!!!

Oh, No, Jenny Slate is Harley Quinn

Jenny Slate might be a good comedian, but she's not a great voice actress. If you've heard her as Pony Head on Star Vs The Forces of Evil here shrill annoying valley girl impression never grows on you. What a miscast, just like Suicide Squad.

New Year's Eve 2017 Guide

This week is also dead, until New Year's, so here's our guide. Remember Metro is free New Year's Eve, because the city doesn't want to deal with your a$$ driving drunk on the holidays.

"To help you ring in the New Year safely, Metro will operate 24-hour, overnight service on Metro Rail, plus Orange and Silver Lines. Free rides will be offered for all bus and rail service from 9pm on December 31, 2016, until 2am on the morning of January 1, 2017.
All Metro Rail Line Stations with latched gates will be unlatched during this time. Regular fares are in effect after 2am on New Year's Day.
One-way fare is $1.75 and includes transfers to other Metro lines for up to two hours to complete a one-way trip.
Note: All Metro Rail lines and the Metro Orange Line will operate all night every 10-20 minutes on New Year's Eve. The Metro Silver Line will operate every 60 minutes during this time, following the same intervals on the late night schedule"

N.Y.E.L.A.
8pm
Grand Park + The Music Center
200 N Grand Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Free

What up Los Angeles? Look forward to 2017 with best friends, sweeties, friendly neighbors, and those cousins from out-of-town at the West Coast’s flagship New Year’s Eve celebration. Grand Park + The Music Center’s N.Y.E.L.A. is THE PLACE to dream together and welcome new beginnings with a countdown on City Hall, live music, food, and photo booths in one big, beautiful, colorful Angeleno experience to remember! #NYELA

No Cover New Year's

8pm 

Angel City Brewery

216 Alameda St, Los Angeles, California 90012

Free

 

Drinks: Specialty Beer Cocktails and a free, Sparkling Berliner Weisse toast at Midnight!

Food: Postcards Central American Soul and The Chairman LA

Music: 8 p- John Morgan
9 p- The Vignes Rooftop Revival
10 p- Runson Willis III
11 p- The Fuzzy Crystals

PROHIBITION NYE at UNION STATION
9pm
UNION STATION 800 North Alameda Street
Los Angeles, CA 90015
$165.00
21+

Prohibition NYE returns to the majestic Ticket Concourse at Union Station with the excitement and glamour of the Roaring Twenties.  

New Year's Eve Luau Feast and Festivities!

8pm

648 S Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90014

$tarts at $75 

Join Clifton's Republic for this hemisphere's most unique New Year's Eve celebration! With an exceptional traditional Luau feast followed by the most extraordinary Polynesian performances on five full floors, this is a one of a kind New Year's experience.  Enjoy Champagne, Tiki and adventure in an exceptional, sensuous journey to the South Seas and beyond!  Please choose from several select itineraries and prepare yourself for an unforgettable voyage.  

New Year’s Eve Presented by Night Dive 18+

8pm

Aquarium of the Pacific

100 Aquarium Way, Long Beach, California 90802

$24.95 

 

Ring in 2017 with the first-ever New Year’s Eve at the Aquarium of the Pacific. It will be a night to remember, with live bands playing in the Great Hall and DJs spinning in the galleries—all curated by the team that brings you Night Dive so you know it’s going to be good!
Dance the night away, and when you need a break, grab a drink from the cash bar and go see your favorite furry and finned friends. You can also get your grub on with tasty bite stations throughout the Aquarium.

New Year’s Eve on The Queen Mary
7:30pm – 1am
The Queen Mary
1126 Queens Hwy, Long Beach, CA 90802
General admission tickets are $99 and include admission, fireworks, and access to select parties: Avatar, Urban Cowboy, Mambo Kings, Matrix, The Godfather, and Now You See Me.
VIP tickets with premium firework viewing are $199 and include admission, premiums firework viewing, 2 drink tickets and access to all parties: Dirty Dancing, Avatar, Urban Cowboy, Mambo Kings, Matrix, The Godfather, Goldfinger, Arabian Nights, and Now You See Me.
21+

Ring in the New Year with a night of unforgettable celebrations and entertainment inspired by Hollywood’s most famous films abroad the majestic Queen Mary on December 31, 2016. Travel throughout the ship’s decks, ballrooms, and salons to step into the magic of favorite films including The God Father, Urban Cowboy, Mambo Kings, Avatar and more. Each themed party will celebrate the sights and sounds of beloved movies, culminating with one of SoCal’s best New Year’s Eve firework displays at midnight.
 
2017: A New Hope
7pm
NerdMelt Showroom
Tickets are $8 in advance / $10 at the door

What a terrible year it’s been! Celebrate the end of 2016 and ring in the new year with a comedy/music show hosted by comedian Joseph Scrimshaw (Obsessed Podcast, RiffTrax, Screen Junkies)! A comedy cocktail of stand-up, music, improvised shenanigans, and more broken resolutions than you can shake a champagne flute at!







New Year's Evil Screening
11:59pm
New Beverly Cinema
7165 Beverly Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90036
$9.27

A horror movie set on New Year's?











Midnight on the Marina
8:30pm
Waterfront Room at the Marina Del Rey Hotel
13534 Bali Way
Marina del Rey, CA 90292

$50 – $1,200 

You're invited to join the Marina del Rey Hotel for an exclusive New Year’s Eve Celebration in our Waterfront Room and patio overlooking the fabulous yachts and sailboats of Marina del Rey. Dance the night away to tunes by DJ Ella. Gaze at not one, but two dazzling fireworks displays over the Marina at 9 PM and Midnight. Sample delectable hors d'oeuvres from SALT Restaurant & Bar by Executive Chef Mark Gold. Ring in the new magic of 2017 with a complimentary Champagne Toast at Midnight.

Metro Rides Free 9pm to 2am On Christmas Eve Don't Die Drunk Driving On Christmas

To help you celebrate the holidays safely, all Metro Bus and Rail lines will offer free rides the night of Christmas Eve from 9 p.m. until 2 a.m. Christmas morning. All Metro Rail stations with latched gates will be unlatched during this time.

Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays LA crew, enjoy this time with your family and friends or Netflix. We''ll be back to give you a rundown of New Year's Eve places to celebrate next week. Until then, have yourself a Merry Little Hanukkah, Christmas or holidays no one else regards.

Weekly What To Do: You Might As Well Walk In a Graveyard And Be The Last Man On Earth This Weekend

The weekend is kind of dead guys, go see a movie and get some Chinese food...or just celebrate Christmas and Hanukkah.

LA GIVES BACK
Wednesday, December 21,

8pm-2am est

18+

$20-$25

Union - 4067 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA

$20.00 - $25.00

TICKETS HERE

 
Brownies and Lemonade, HAM On Everything, Emo Nite, Space Yacht, Free Grilled Cheese, Late Night Laggers, Restless Nites

Strictly Christmas: A Variety Show
Wednesday, December 21, 8:00pm
UCB Franklin
5919 Franklin Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90028
$6

A Christmas variety show hosted by Nick Thune & Mikey Kampmann.
Featuring: Special guests announced day of show...

Director's Commentary Live!
Wednesday, December 21, 10:30pm
UCB Sunset
5419 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027
$6

Rankin and Bass's "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" a live, fully-improvised commentary track with Neil Campbell, Tim Kalpakis, Allan McLeod, more.

JACK FROST
Wed, Dec 21, 7:30pm
Egyptian Theatre 6712 Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood, CA 90028
$

On the way to his execution, serial killer Jack Frost's prison bus crashes into a tankard full of chemicals, which transform him into a giant killer snowman. Now as a super-powered psychotic Frosty, Jack goes on a new killing spree in one of the most outrageous holiday horror films of the VCR era.

Jerry Beck's Christmas Cartoon Chaos

Thursday, December 22, 2016 7:30 PM

611 N Fairfax Avenue

$12 

CHRISTMAS CARTOON CHAOS! Before Charlie Brown, and waaaay before the Grinch, the best (and most bizarre) Christmas cartoons were made for and shown in movie theatres. Our resident animation historian Jerry Beck (Cartoon Research.com) presents the best of these — at the biggest Christmas film party of the year… or at least, of the week!

Matt and Edgar Netflix and Chill: Holiday Edition

Thursday, December 22, 9:30pm

UCB Franklin

5919 Franklin Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90028 

$6

As if it weren't hard enough to pick movies on Netflix, it seems like every time the holiday season comes around Netflix gets flooded with very weird, generic Christmas titles like "Uncle Nick" or "Spirit of Christmas". Well we got some of the best indie teams in LA to come and do improv based off of clips from those very movies! So come check out these weird movies getting blown out by some of the best indie teams on this side of the Mississippi.

A Very Nostalgic Christmas Special

Friday, December 23, 10:30pm

UCB Sunset

5419 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027 

$6 

America needs Christmas nostalgia more than ever! And if America doesn't get it, they should get to scream about it!  Groups perform a scene from a famous Christmas movie and you, the audience, can boo them offstage if the scene is not making them feel ooey and gooey inside. It's a "Night at the Apollo" meets a classic Christmas TV special. Old Hollywood stars (played by Henry Kaiser, Jason Kaye and Cassi Jerkins) attempt to host a night of Christmas nostalgia.

MICROWAVE MASSACRE

Fri, Dec 23, 7:30pm

Spielberg Theatre at the Egyptian 6712 Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood, CA 90028 

$

All that Donald (Jackie Vernon, who voiced Rankin-Bass favorite “Frosty the Snowman”) wants is a decent meal, but his wife's cooking is atrocious, so he shoves her into their brand-new microwave - and finds the results delicious. Now addicted to the taste of irradiated human flesh, Donald must find more victims to keep his lunch pail packed.

DIE HARD / LETHAL WEAPON

Fri, Dec 23, 7:30pm
Aero Theatre 1328 Montana Avenue,
Santa Monica, CA 90403
$

Now I Have A Machine Gun Ho-Ho-Ho





‘57th Annual L.A. County Holiday Celebration
Saturday, Dec 24 from 3 p.m. – 6 p.m.
• Doors open at 2:30 p.m.
• Entertainment on The Music Center plaza for those waiting in line begins at 12:30 p.m.

Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at The Music Center
135 N. Grand Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
FREE; no reservations or tickets to the show; first come, first seated
• Patrons may come and go throughout the three-hour performance PARKING:
FREE in The Music Center parking garage

Music ensembles, choirs and dance companies from the many neighborhoods and cultures of the region celebrate the season during this free three-hour holiday show that is perfect for the whole family.
 • A live broadcast of the show airs from 3 p.m. - 6 p.m. on PBS SoCal KOCE
• Live streaming at pbssocal.org
• The PBS SoCal KOCE broadcast repeats from 9 p.m. – midnight, and again on Dec. 25 at noon; and on PBS SoCal Plus on Dec. 25 at 3 a.m., 6 a.m., 7 p.m. and on Dec. 26 at 11 a.m.

Fiddler Sing-a-Long + First Night of Chanukah Celebration!
Saturday, Dec 24, 7:30pm
Multiple Laennle Theaters
Prices this year start at $18 for General Admission with discounts for students and seniors ($15), and Premiere Card holders ($16 /$13). Typically, Fiddler sells out … so don't miss the buggy!

Belt out your holiday spirit … or your holiday frustrations. Either way, you'll feel better as you croon along to all-time favorites like “TRADITION,” “IF I WERE A RICH MAN,” “TO LIFE,” “SUNRISE SUNSET,” “DO YOU LOVE ME?” and “ANATEVKA,” among many others.

The evening includes trivia, prizes, and by all means -- we encourage you to come in costume! Guaranteed fun for all. Children are welcome (Fiddler is rated "G") though some themes may be challenging for young children.

MatzoBall
Sat, Dec 24 , 9pm
The Association
110 E 6th St
LOS ANGELES, CA 90014  

$30

Bigger and better than ever, MatzoBall, the nations leading Jewish single’s event, kicks off its 30th year with an unforgettable Jewcy adventure. With almost three decades of experience, nobody can do it bigger or better than Matzoball and this year will prove to be no different. Matzoball sets the stage for the ultimate party experience that you do not want to miss out on!!

Yule Log on KCAL 9
Dec 25, 6 to 10 a.m.
Tune in to channel kcal 9 for a yule log on screen. Accompanied by Christmas music from 94.7 The Wave.








6th Annual Greatest Classic Cartoons Ever!
Monday, December 26, 2016 – 2:00 PM & 7:00 PM

Alex Theatre
216 North Brand Boulevard
Glendale, CA 91203
 $16

Giggle along with Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, Popeye, Tom & Jerry, Goofy, Donald Duck, Woody Woodpecker, The Roadrunner and many more of your favorites from the crème de la crème of Toons from movies’ Golden Age.  Animation know-it-all Jerry Beck and director Frank Gladstone are back with brand new, classic toons the whole family can enjoy!

Doctor Who: The Return of Doctor Mysterio
in select cinemas nationwide on Tuesday, December 27 and Thursday, December 29, 7pm
multiple theaters
$

The Doctor is back on the big screen this holiday season for a special two- night event featuring two exciting bonus programs, The Doctor: A New Kind of Hero, which asks the question what exactly is it about the Doctor that makes him so heroic, and Doctor Who Christmas Extra, looking back at the making of the The Return of Doctor Mysterio, both featuring appearances by stars Peter Capaldi and Matt Lucas, showrunner Steven Moffat, and many more.

BlitzenSchticks The Taste of Christmas Reindeer

Not really though, but dang, do we love the marketing for this great memento perfect for any stocking stuffer. We doubt there's anytime left to get them in for Christmas, but you can always say that the reindeer get used after their Christmas run.

"Each package of BlitzenSchticks contains four merrily spiced, Reindeer-free, Pork Kabanosy (Polish Pork Sticks). All profits benefit Luke House's community meal program in Madison, WI."

BlitzenSchticks
$10
$5 to ship

Dead Rising 4 Review: Is It Worth Buying Now? No

Now I'm such a fan of the Dead Rising series I spent cash money on two pre-order items on ebay; a severed hand holding mistletoe and a Dead Rising 4 snow globe. Hell, my Christmas special, that's what I called my Christmas party, was themed after the game! We even had a combo weapon making contest!

Christmas Special Combo Cards

Dead Rising 4 loses some things from the previous games. You can't throw anything in your items list at the undead for laughs, you can't drink liquor until you vomit and then see zombies slip on that throw-up.

A lot of bloggers and writers online are using some arguments that don't seem to be their own and to be cobbled off of Reddit or other sites. Such as the in-game clock and rescue missions from the previous games being fun and it be a shame that they're gone. Those were never fun. Why do you think they made an edition of the game called Off The Record where you just kill zombies? Whomever keeps saying Capcom made a misstep by changing the game by cutting the nuisance of time or that fans cared obviously never played the game.

No, Capcom misstepped per usual in a lot of different ways. Let's just get the list done here.
-PC version is a mess, my play-through on my PC, which is more than capable of handling the game, had various problems.
*Sub-list of PC Problems:
- Out of the gate not even a game play issue, a purchasing issue. It was hard to pre-order the game on PC as no physical copies came out. The Microsoft Store listed the game in other languages on it's store page for a long time and not in English.
*Sub-sub-list A variety of PC issues of gameplay.
-At one point the game screwed up and Frank somewhat walked into an invisible box, so moving him so slightly had him acting like a mime every few inches stuck in an invisible box.
-Frank's ability to run disappeared and the use of stamina at a point in the game. The stamina gauge shows you how much energy you have to sprint away from zombies, it was clear gone for a chapter of the game. Meaning, through multiple play-throughs of closing and opening the game the gauge was gone.
-Clones of vendors. Now this was a creepy fun one. At rescue shelters you have vendors selling you weapons and food and junk. Now, at one rescue shelter the game somehow loaded three sets of the same vendor type standing in the same place. I believe the game loaded two other various vendors from other rescue shelters. It was weird to hear them all try small talk at once. This also stayed in the game through multiple play-throughs.
Update: Looks like it's a common bug
-Interest points on the maps not going away. After rescuing a survivor or not rescuing a survivor the in-game map would keep showing their location for no reason. Happened multiple times.
-Ending boss battle failed to continue correctly had to reload checkpoint.
-Game crashed a few times or wouldn't load a few times.
*end of sub-lists
- The game is easy, way too easy.
Sadly, whomever did the pacing of this game didn't workout making boss fights or maniac fights fun was making them a bit hard or that they should last longer then a few seconds. I killed most bosses with so much ease I hardly cared when fighting them. I had so much health that I never felt afraid of dying. I think I died once throughout my entire play which was around 37 hours.
4. DLC needed for true ending? For a real shot to the balls Capcom committed the sin of making you have to pay extra for a yet-unreleased ending to the game. The current ending is no holiday Christmas special ending or really as funny as the rest of the game was. It's dang depressing.
5. Exo-suit use

In this game you're introduced to the exo-suit. An exo-skeleton that increases your strength and let's you pull off super powerful attacks. For my game play through the suit was usually underutilized in variety. It wasn't until the very end of the game that I got to use abilities from the suit, like an electrical mode. Why it wasn't allowed to be near more mods so you could pull of zanier attacks is strange when it was such a major point of the new game's release.
6. Save system?
I'm not sure how they hell you save your game. I've played so many gamesover the years it's pretty easy to find it on any menu system. Not this time. I just thought the game saved all the time, though it in no way indicated that it was ever doing so.

For those reasons I can't tell anyone to pay for the game with a $60 price tag, definitely not on PC. I'm saying wait until the Ultimate edition comes out and the give you the real ending with the base price of the game. If you have an Xbox One, rent it for the holidays.

So giving it a nice bashing I'll go over why you should rent the game. Because after all it's problems it's still a game with oddball humor where you kill zombies for fun.

1. It's Christmas!
Abso-freaken-loved they went with a holiday theme here. It's Christmas time at the mall and around Williamete. You have weapons based on Christmas including an Ornament Gun and the Nutblaster, based on a nutcracker; that shoots bullets. Oh, I love attaching an Electric Wreath and hearing a Christmas jingle as the zombies sizzled. You have Holiday Junk, which is essentially a ball of junk of Christmas to beat zombies with that throws up items.
It's not just the weapons, but seeing the mall have Christmas areas like a deadly Santa's Village. Or just outside the mall with different areas having a Christmas tone. Still would have loved to killed someone with a Menorah or some sort of dreidel weapon.
2. Combo weapons
The game continues the tradition of letting you make great combo weapons to expunge the world of zombies in a wide variety of ways from acid to fire all those undead have gotta be mercilessly  murdered. As already written, I had a penchant for the holiday based weaponry. But,  how can you pass up shooting a swordfish at someone? Or using the Gandelf which fires garden gnomes and summons them;  truly amazing.
3. Selfies
I love being able to wear a dumb costume and have a horde of the undead on me while taking selfies with my camera. Now you can kill maybe one zombie with a neck break in selfie mode, but I would have liked being able to kill more zombie in more intricate ways while taking a selfie. Still you can't beat how nuts the idea is of just grabbing a zombie and taking a picture with it before breaking its neck.
-On PC there's no simple way of taking that selfie and then putting in on social media, which I think that Xbox One can do.
4. Story/Continuity/Writing
-Dead Rising 4 does take place after DR 3. All the previous games add up though there's no cameos from previous talent you might read about them in the extras you can find in game.
-The story is stupid dumb fun. Reasoning on why Frank goes back is never as insane as the Japanese teams writing or their idea on what America is like.
-What stands out is Frank West's himself, who's a jerk, but your jerk who cracks dumb lines and deals with A serious situation with the care of a frat boy out for a night of partying. The game wants you have fun as Frank.

So for the massacre of zombie parts and just hanging with Frank parts the game is great for Christmas season. The rest is just worth a rental as Capcom slowly poors out DLC over the next month or so. The full game coming out next Christmas.

Oh, wow mini-golf DLC?!! Capcom, get your sh*t together.

Burton × South Park

Burton × South Park has created high quality version hats of the one's the boys wear in the show. Oh, and we have a official store here to try them on.

Burton Flagship Store
8175 Melrose Ave,
Los Angeles, CA 90046

Sega x Kidrobot – Sonic The Hedgehog Capsule & Keychain Collection

Sonic is his name and speed is his game! Sega and Kidrobot have teamed up to present an all-new Sonic The Hedgehog vinyl mini series just in time for the 25th anniversary of the original Sega Genesis game! Each collectible blind box figure comes mounted on a golden ring as seen in the original game. Collect them all before they speed away!

 I guess Kidrobot is dead on Melrose, good job on owning a physical store guys, but you make fun toys for my desk. Now make Super Mario World and Katamari!

Get'em here.
Keychains here.

via Vinyl Pulse

Escape Rooms: What Are They? (Sponsored Post)

Even as escape rooms have become a very popular pastime in recent times, there are many people that have heard of them, but have no idea what they are. So what are escape rooms?

An escape room is a game in which two or more people are locked inside a room and can only get out by solving puzzles, clues, and challenges one at a time, until they get out of the room. Some games will have a guide who gives the group a briefing on the rules of the game before leaving you to your own devices. The games come in a variety of themes such as space stations sets, detective simulations, amnesia situations, and prison dungeons among others. You will typically be expected to solve the clue, puzzles and mysteries and get out of the room before the time allotted ends.

35-year-old Japanese developer, Takao Kato in Tokyo, created the earliest prototype of the escape room game. After its introduction to Singapore in 2011, its popularity has soared as it spread to China, Israel, Canada, Taiwan, and the US. Since they call for a lot of cooperation and collaboration among participants, escape rooms can be very good for your corporate team building events, or just a good day of fun with friends or family.

Visit www.escapeiq.com for more info on one of the most popular escape rooms in LA!