Happy Thanks-for-nothing Day!

FRIDAY, November 18
Inflatables? Check. Astonishing light show? Check. Carbon-copy vocals and instrumentation? Check. Reasonably unattractive older guys? Check. The Australian Pink Floyd arrives in town with the full Floyd formula. Not to be confused with Pink Voyd, Think Floyd, Which One’s Pink?, Floydian Slip and the Machine or Pink Floyd the Barber, these comfortably-numb nuts have been doing it since 1988, and even played for David Gilmour’s 50th birthday party. And you know you’re going to get stoned, so it’s practically as good as the real thing. Wilshire Theater, 8440 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills; Fri., Nov. 18, 8 p.m.; $30-$50. (213) 480-3232.

Some say man invented language out of a need to complain. No doubt Lewis
Black would gripe about that theory. He may do his best work ranting on The
Daily Show, where you can better appreciate his throbbing blood vessels, but
live onstage he’s free to tangle with longer, deeper thoughts, like, “There’s
no such thing as soy milk. It’s soy juice.” Wiltern Theater, 3790 Wilshire
Blvd.; Fri., Nov. 18, 8 p.m.; $35-$43.50. (213) 480-3232.


SATURDAY, November 19
Anybody know any good hotels in Pomona? If you truly experience all that is the L.A. Tequila Festival, you’re going to need a place within walking distance to plant your wobbly self. The festival, while flaunting lots of fun things — music from Los Lobos and Astrid Hadad, an art exhibit and regional food — also casts a serious tone with seminars on tequila trends and Mexico’s strict regulations of the stuff. But here’s the best thing: Some 500 different tequilas will be available for tasting! If anyone wants to bribe me, a bottle of blue-label Herradura makes a lovely gift. Fairplex at Pomona, 1101 W. McKinley Ave.; Sat.-Sun., Nov. 19-20, festival 10 a.m.-10 p.m.; tequila tasting 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; concert 7:30 p.m.; $45-$65. (213) 480-3232.

SUNDAY, November 20
“Doo Dah” translates as “Screw the Rose Parade.” Long may the Doo Dah Parade
prosper and give us blurbologists the opportunity to type Bastard Sons of Lee
Marvin, the Howdy Krishnas, Linoleum Bonapart and, for the 29th consecutive year,
Snotty Scotty & the Hankies. Now available via the Gold Line! Old Pasadena,
just follow the hairy prom queens and giant starfish; Sun., Nov. 20, 11:30 a.m.;
free (it better be). (626) 440-7379; pasadenadoodahparade.com.

Like the Grateful Dead playing San Francisco’s Winterland on New Year’s Eve, Dan
Zanes and Friends make their annual pilgrimage to UCLA’s Royce Hall. It’s
also our yearly sighting of Camryn Manheim seated in the front row rocking out
with her son. Zanes’ fans don’t send their brains off on magical substances, but
they do twirl to the music, wear comfy clothes, talk stream-of-consciousness babble
and often smell bad. For us parents, Zanes plays songs that refreshingly don’t
make us want to throw up (sorry, Wiggles). Royce Hall, UCLA; Sun., Nov. 20,
11 a.m. & 2 p.m.; $22, $12 children. (310) 825-2101 or www.uclalive.org.

MONDAY, November 21
What do Mother Teresa, Prince Rainier, Ted Turner, the Dalai Lama, Whoopi Goldberg,
Ronald Reagan and Lawrence Welk all have in common? No, they’re not all
dead. They’ve all endorsed World Hello Day — see their letters at www.worldhelloday.org.
The people behind Hello Day had the idea that if we greet 10 people, we’ll “demonstrate
the importance of personal communication for preserving peace.”

TUESDAY, November 22
Move over, It’s a Wonderful Life. It’s time to start a fresh family holiday
tradition with this new stage adaptation of Irving Berlin’s White Christmas.
It not only has that title song but also “Blue Skies” and “The Best Things
Happen When You’re Dancing.” And yes, the show features snow! Pantages Theater,
6233 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood; Nov. 22-Jan. 1; Tues.-Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat., 2 &
8 p.m.; Sun., 1 & 6:30 p.m.; $25-$87; previews $20-$82. (213) 365-3500; www.broadwayla.org.

WEDNESDAY, November 23
Masters of American Comics, an exhibit so big, it’s at two museums — MOCA
and the Hammer Museum — legitimizes ’toons with work by Chris Ware, R. Crumb,
Art Spiegelman, Lyonel Feininger (Wee Willie Winkie’s World), E.C. Segar
(Thimble Theater) and Charles M. Schulz (that one about the boy and his
dog). At what point does a comic strip become art? Some say when it’s not funny,
but that would include Family Circus, and nobody, not even a 5-year-old,
has ever laughed at the moronic thing ever. No wonder Bill Keane wasn’t invited.
(See also this week’s cover features for more.) Armand Hammer Museum of Art
and Cultural Center, 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood; Tues.-Wed. & Fri.-Sat., 11
a.m.-7 p.m.; Thurs., 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sun., 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; $5, $3 seniors. (310)
443-7041. MOCA, 250 S. Grand Ave., downtown; Thurs., 11 a.m.-8 p.m.; Mon. & Fri.,
11 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sat.-Sun., 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; $8, $5 students. (213) 626-6222.


THURSDAY, November 24
It’s Thanksgiving — which means family time for many of us. But at noon, you might
think about taking a break from your own celebration to help out other families.
There are opportunities all over the county, but the Union Station Foundation
is hosting the Biggest Potluck in the Nation, where Arnold and celebrities
you’ve never heard of serve up hot meals. And if you can’t get away on Thanksgiving,
volunteers are urgently needed the day before and the day after the event. Central
Park, Del Mar & Fair Oaks aves., Pasadena; Thurs., Nov. 24, noon. www.unionstationfoundation.org.

For the 27th year, Laugh Factory owner Jamie Masada serves up free turkey
dinners for “struggling and/or lonely comics, actors and the rest of the entertainment
community ?or anybody who finds themselves alone on the holiday.” Laugh Factory,
8001 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood; Thurs., Nov. 24, 1, 3 & 7 p.m. Reservations
recommended. (323) 656-1336, Ext. 1.

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