Michael Ciriaco

A wild Rhyhorn

What Is Pokemon Go Doing to L.A. and Its Human Denizens?

Michael Ciriaco
Less than a week after its launch, Pokemon Go fever is spreading through Los Angeles faster than a Rapidash on crystal meth. The location-based, augmented-reality app, which was released to the U.S., Australia and New Zealand on July 6 for Android and iOS, is like the bastard love child of......
Scene from 2015 L.A. Pride Parade; Credit: Courtesy of CSW

L.A. Pride Exposes a Generational Divide in the LGBT Community

Michael Ciriaco
"The tragedy of old age is not that one is old, but that one is young," Oscar Wilde quipped in his iconic novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. Chronicling a beautiful young man's Faustian bargain for eternal youth, Wilde's most recognizable literary work crystalizes an anxiety about aging that permeates......
The author

"We Are Art": Cosplayers Crashed Thursday's Downtown Art Walk

Michael Ciriaco
Look, its a bird! Its a plane! Its a fashion statement. On Thursday night, members of Los Angeles’ cosplay community assembled on the streets of DTLA to infiltrate its monthly Art Walk. For the uninitiated, cosplay, a portmanteau of "costume play," is the practice dressing up as one’s favorite fictional......
Batman and Superman found common ground at WonderCon this weekend.; Credit: Photo by Ryan Orange

WonderCon Makes Us Wonder: Should Comic-Con Move to L.A.?

Michael Ciriaco
On Easter Sunday, the crowd at the Los Angeles Convention Center worshipped a man with amazing abs who rose from the dead. That man was Superman, obviously. The Man of Steel, along with the Hulk, Sailor Moon, Pikachu and the rest of the geek-chic pantheon were the focus of this......
John Morrison and Ryan Nemeth in the iO West green room with the cast of Del Closed Fist Presents.; Credit: Mike Ciriaco

WWE Wrestlers Have Elbow Dropped Into the L.A. Improv Scene

Michael Ciriaco
“The good thing about a really skilled improvisor is that they won’t question what happens. They will just go along with it,” said WWE pro wrestler Ryan Nemeth backstage at iO West comedy theater. The 31-year-old muscle man went on to describe one of the most memorable improvised scenes he’s......