FRIDAY, October 7
October is International Bubblegum Month. Let us now bow before all things
sugary, joyful, underappreciated and one-hit-wonderful with the Bubblegum Achievement
Awards, brought to us by the fun-pushers from Scram magazine. The awards go
to Steve Barri (Grass Roots string puller, producer of the all-chimp band Lancelot
Link & the Evolution Revolution), Ron Dante (the Archies), Joey Levine (Ohio
Express) and Dr. Demento, who needs no parenthetical. Besides sweet acceptance
speeches, there will be a screening of the new documentary Bubblegum Music Is
the Naked Truth, live performances by Dante, the Bubblegum Queen and Canned
Hamm, a special puppet spectacular created by marionette master Bob Baker, and
a visit from Abram the Safety Ape, plus cake, ice cream, Bazooka bubblegum,
raffle prizes, oddly hip and hiply odd people. My candidate for next year: the
Buoys, the Rupert Holmes–led band who recorded “Timothy,” the peppiest song
about eating your friend ever recorded. Bob Baker Marionette Theater, 1345
W. First St.; Fri., Oct. 7, 7 p.m.; $52. (323) 223-2767.

First Fridays at the Natural History Museum kicks off with “The Shape of Things
To Come,” where “ecology meets style with a discussion on sustainable living,”
not to mention a like-minded fashion show and mind-challenging, sustainable
music by Son de Madera con Zack de al Rocha and Quetzal. Fascinatingly, it all
ties into the museum’s “Collapse?” exhibit, inspired by Jared Diamond (who gives
a talk later in the series). Natural History Museum, 900 Exposition Blvd.;
Fri., Oct. 7, 7 p.m.-1 a.m.; $15. (866) 468-3399. See Dance Clubs Pick.

SATURDAY, October 8
Racing through the streets in a frantic search for things you didn’t know you
needed — sounds like just another Saturday running errands. Nope, it’s RACE/L.A.,
a scavenger hunt that makes city stress fun. You need a partner; then you’ll
get your first clue, and the whole hunt takes between five and seven hours.
Let us know how fun this is. Sat., Oct. 8, 9:30 a.m. (also Sat., Oct. 15); $120
per team. www.racela.com or e-mail racela@earthlink.net.

After sitting through Etan Boritzer’s lecture “Collecting or Collected: A Primer
for Collectors and Artists,” you will be qualified to wander into the massive
group art show that is Create:Fixate’s Optical Lounge and Audio Lab. After the
talk, you will stroll by the art, which you will now view with a new sense of
capitalism. Included among the 27 artists are works by Nate Patel, Bernie Krause,
Scott Keskel, Mike Stilkey, Jessica Boone,
Patrick Fraser and Carlos Raphael Vera. Wild, arty music from superspinners
Liza Richardson and Wiseacre, plus performances by Chicago dance-music experimenter
Joshua Collins and others, keep the soundtrack
avant-garde, yet danceable. Also, there’s a raffle to benefit animals affected
by Hurricane Katrina. Spring Arts Tower, 453 S. Spring St., downtown; Sat.,
Oct. 8, 7 p.m.-2 a.m.; free preview 4-7 p.m.; $10. www.createfixate.com.

Another battle for cutting-edge art mecca takes place at SCREAM and NewTown’s
Sounding Images 2005: An International Micro-Fest of Digital Sonic & Visual
Media. Let’s let the press release explain: “an adventuresome exploration of
cutting-edge art seamlessly meshing experimental, digitally generated and manipulated
imagery and electro-acoustic sound.” We’re guessing it’s like MTV for the pretentious
set. Armory Center for the Arts, 145 N. Raymond St., Pasadena; Sat., Oct.
8, 8 p.m.; $10, $5 seniors. (626) 398-9278.

SUNDAY, October 9
Slurp’s up! Who will be this year’s Noodle King at the Double Ten Celebration?
All we hope is that the crown is made of that really thin spaghetti. As one
of the restaurants at the Excalibur in Las Vegas proclaims, “Lancelotta pasta!”
Anyone can enter, and the winner gets 300 bucks. We have to add that the press
contact for the event is Pedro Chan. You gotta love L.A. Central Plaza, 943
N. Broadway, Chinatown; Sun., Oct. 9, 5:30 p.m. (event 10 a.m.-6 p.m.); free.
(323) 721-0774.

Yet again, slurp’s up! The LACBC (stands for something with L.A. and bicycles)
invites anyone with a bike, a helmet and a sweet tooth to The Second Annual
LACBC Bicycle Sundae, where you get to wheel to different ice cream stops, including
Persian, Indian, Mexican and Italian varieties. You’ll cover about 10 to 15
miles, which should burn off most of your calories. Just show up with $15 at
Griffith Park Manor, 1551 Flower St., Glendale; Sun., Oct. 9, 10 a.m.; $15.
(213) 629-2142.

MONDAY, October 10
The new Atom Egoyan film, Where the Truth Lies, gets a special AFI
Director’s Screening, followed by a Q&A with the director and cast members
Kevin Bacon, Alison Lohman and Rachel Blanchard, where they can explain what
the hell just happened onscreen. ArcLight Hollywood, 6360 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood;
Mon., Oct. 10, 8 p.m.; $11. (323) 464-4226.

TUESDAY, October 11
She banged Mick! And Morrison! And, as we learned in her classic I-had-all-your-fun
book, I’m With the Band: Confessions of a Groupie, Pamela Des Barres had a ball
(yeah, yeah) the whole dang time. The moral of her story: Even little girls
born in Reseda can grow up to be mad cool. The new edition of the book features
an introduction by yummy rock candy Dave Navarro, who’s young enough to be her
son — not that there’s anything wrong with that. Book Soup, 8816 Sunset Blvd.,
West Hollywood; Tues., Oct. 11, 7 p.m.; free. (310) 659-3110.

WEDNESDAY, October 12
Paul Kozlowki, who runs the Fake Gallery and who I mostly trust to have intrepid
and interesting taste in original comedy, has almost talked me into trying to
find a parking space for his weekly show, The Day That Paper Tried To Take Over
the Earth, which he describes as “an action-packed horror about paper that comes
to life and menaces a small town. We feel the production successfully captures
the feel of a ’50s B movie, especially the sincerity that comes from dramatically
challenged actors. The play features a large number of elaborately designed
paper monsters, a flock of ravenous magazine subscription cards, a remote-controlled
cardboard box, a rubber hand and a giant 8-foot Swingline stapler. In short,
if the Little Rascals grew up and put on a play, this is what it would look
like.” If that sounds promising: The Fake Gallery, 4319 Melrose Ave., Hollywood;
Wed., Oct. 12, 8:30 p.m.; $12. (323) 661-0786; www.fakedotcom.com.

THURSDAY, October 13
Vittorio De Sica’s comedy Ieri, Oggi, Domani (Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow)
is one of those charming Italian comedies that makes you wish you lived in a
charming Italian comedy. Marcello Mastroianni and Sophia Loren do what they
do best. De Sica’s grandson Brando De Sica introduces Sciuscia (Shoeshine),
another De Sica film, about street youth in Rome. Aero Theater, 1328 Montana
Ave., Santa Monica; Thurs., Oct. 13, 7:30 p.m.; $9. (323) 466-FILM.

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