Email Author Derek Thomas

2009 Stories by Derek Thomas

• HAPPY KOTOHAJIME!

  published December 31, 2009

  Little Tokyo officially welcomes 2010 with Hatsu-Egao (First Smile), the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center's New Year's... More >>

• FREE SCREENING, AS THEY SAY, ENSUES

  published December 31, 2009

  The American Cinematheque celebrates five years at the Aero Theater in Santa Monica with a free screening of Buster Keaton's Sherlock Jr.... More >>

• A MUCH BETTER CHOICE THAN BIG BAD VOODOO DADDY AT WALT DISNEY HALL!

  published December 24, 2009

  What do you get when you take a team of writers, directors and actors, throw a few random key words and concepts at them, and tell them to come... More >>

• Are We Done Yet?

  published December 24, 2009

  In the spirit of the season, comics ask a random audience member for their most horrific story from the most wonderful time of the year, then... More >>

• NIHILIST YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS

  published December 17, 2009

  If you've had your fill of peppy good cheer this time of year, try the Nihilist International Film Festival for an existential change of pace. The... More >>

• I'LL BE HOMO FOR CHRISTMAS

  published December 17, 2009

  Nothing says the holidays like sequins, rhinestones and wigs, and the Boofont Sisters don that gay apparel in JESUS CHRIST! It's... More >>

• Native Visions

  published December 10, 2009

  When Oaxacan artist Alejandro Santiago returned to his hometown of Teococuilco, he was stunned to discover the place nearly deserted. In his years... More >>

• Kids Say the Darndest Things

  published December 10, 2009

  You may not die laughing, but you'll come close at the American Cinematheque's "Funny or Die Presents the Internet 3.0," a screening of greatest... More >>

• Cue "Spanish Flea"

  published December 3, 2009

  Three single guys to every single lady, inane questions and answers, a potential but unlikely chance for romance: It sounds like the bar scene in... More >>

• EGGS BEFORE SPLATTER

  published December 3, 2009

  Director Tobe Hooper shook up the shock-schlock genre with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Salem's Lot and Poltergeist, and now his... More >>

• BETTER LIVING THROUGH FILM

  published November 26, 2009

  What do you call artists who advocate? Artivists, of course. The filmmakers on show at the Artivist Film Festival (sixth annual, in fact) are on a... More >>

• SMOTHERS AND OTHER STRANGERS

  published November 26, 2009

  You kids with your YouTube and your Hulu may not be able to get your head around this, but way back in the retro-tastic 1960s, there were only... More >>

• THANKS FOR NOTHING

  published November 13, 2009

  Thanksgiving isn't just about eating turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce -- it's also about having to share that meal with crazy people. Family,... More >>

• HOORAY FOR NOLLYWOOD

  published November 13, 2009

  Lagos Island locals love the movies, and Nollywood delivers. Nollywood is Nigeria's film industry, nearly the world's largest, an ultralow-budget... More >>

• FRIENDS, RAMEN, YAKITORI

  published November 5, 2009

  Sushi, sake and soba are on the menu at Bridge USA's Bridge the Gap Between East and West Japanese Food Festival, as are ramen, yakitori and... More >>

• CREAM OF BROCCOLI

  published November 5, 2009

  Broccoli. Cubby Broccoli. The man who turned Ian Fleming's secret agent 007 into a film icon as co-producer of 1962's Dr. No -- formally... More >>

• TOY STORIES

  published November 5, 2009

  It's been 18 years since the first PXL This film festival, a showcase of videos made on the Fisher-Price PXL-2000 camera that ironically turned... More >>

• CANOGA PARK IS DEAD

  published October 29, 2009

  Dia de los Muertos may mean "Day of the Dead," but celebrating with Hellga the Devil's Beer Maid (get it? HELL-ga!) is sure to make you happy to... More >>

• HARRY AND SCARY

  published October 29, 2009

  Costumed canines are on the agenda for Much Love Animal Rescue's Bow Wow Ween, an annual fund-raiser benefiting the volunteer-run organization... More >>

• PU-PU-PUSA . . . GOOD-BYE!!

  published October 15, 2009

  Pupusas are the original Hot Pockets: oily patties of dough stuffed with cheese, refried beans, chicharrones, what have you. Thanks to a... More >>

• IT'S NOT "CHOC-OHOLICS" — IT'S CHOCOLAT-ICS

  published October 8, 2009

  The Los Angeles Luxury Chocolate Salon returns to the Pasadena Convention Center for its third year with twice the floor space as last year —... More >>

• HERE'S THE REAL STORY

  published September 24, 2009

  The Brady Bunch Variety Hour was one of most hallucinogenically bad variety shows to have ever aired on television. Part Donny &... More >>

• IF YOU KNEW SUSHI LIKE THEY KNOW SUSHI

  published September 17, 2009

  Sushi chefs break out the knives for a rumble in the raw at the Little Tokyo finals of the nationwide Sushi Masters challenge. Regional champs... More >>

• TWEET THIS: GET A LIFE, TWITTER USERS!

  published September 10, 2009

  If the TweetDeck ping from your co-worker's cubicle constantly annoys, if you cringe at words like microblogging or lifestreaming, or if you just... More >>

• How Many Sexual Innuendos Can You Find In This Item?

  published August 27, 2009

  Think the economic downturn is hitting you hard? Try being a porn star. Pay rates are going down (so to speak), and the number of barely 18's... More >>