Advance Notice. Vampire Weekend.

Vampire Weekend is playing Pomona's Fox Theater in April and if you want to go, I suggest you purchase your tickets this morning. The presale begins at 10:00 a.m. and the password is CONTRA.

Their new album, Contra, is out next Tuesday--January 12. After nearly two years of having "Oxford Comma" stuck in my head, I for one am thrilled about some new music from the New York indie rockers.

The Fox Theater Pomona is located at 301 S. Garey Ave. in Pomona, Calif.

Tickets are on sale at www.goldenvoice.com

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: Goldenvoice

Check It. Paper Birds [Guest Post].

We here at the BEAT realize that great writers must always appreciate other great writers. Today we feature a guest post by our talented colleague, Nairi Najarian.
Time. The chase for more hours, minutes, seconds in a day never ends. Never allows for satisfaction with what we've accomplished, always leaves us pining for just another moment. We are the White Rabbits, and Time, well, still the Crocodile. In this Wonderland, the caterpillar no longer asks of us "Who are you?", it is the Facebook who now beckons, "What's on your mind?" No more the mirror-images of Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum, than our Twitter twins calling for a re-tweet 140 characters long.

Nikon Festival's "A Day through your Lens" also wants a 140 out of you. A 140 second status update of your day. A live-action tweet. A minute and twenty to tell the world "What's happening." And the top prize for the winning lenscrafter? A cool $100,000. The Office's Rainn Wilson is a judge.

With the stunning "Paper Birds," finalists Shoushan Tavlian and David Falossi accomplish something the other films do not. Something even we, in our everyday, desperately wish to do.

Slow time down.

The daunting prospect of an assigned limit to the film is instantly forgotten upon hearing the first gorgeous aches of the piano. The world created is poignant with colors, music, places and a lovely girl existing in it all. Even when the viewer is transported into the cacophony of nameless streets, cars and pavement, the elegant thread with which our lovely girl bids us to follow is still trailing ever so delicately through the lens. The film auteurs weave us a patchwork of moments leading into moments. A fabric innocent of schedules, appointments and deadlines. A fabric of...time... equal to what we most revere in art, and that's timelessness.

Watch "Paper Birds" and other 140 intervals of time here, and don't forget to vote for your favorite.

-- Nairi Najarian
Nairi is writing amok over at Fête Cheese.

Do It. Sexy book signings.

I just got back from Boston, land of au naturel beauties donning weather-appropriate, reasonable footwear. I watched them trudge through the ice and snow to their top-ranking universities where they crank out theses about Important Academic Topics. I listened to them talk in coffee shops about professors and studying in Italy and political issues in Latin America. I noticed how dorky their knit panda-bear hats and mismatching outfits really are*. It is certain that these young ladies will contribute great things to this country one day. I observed them, like the alien outsider I now am, and admired.

But what about that rare breed of woman who dares to follow--and successfully hikes--the fabeled, less traveled road? Well, they end up here, in Los Angeles. They bypass internships and take out loans for headshots. Their contributions to society are controversial, glossy, and visceral. But these women are also smart. They know how to market themselves, become great businesswomen. And then they write books, too. Ones that sell, suckas.

They're not rocket scientists. They're porn stars. God love them.

In the great literary tradition of Jenna Jameson (How To Make Love Like a Porn Star was the single best book I read my freshman year of college. Sorry, The Illiad), TWO of these lovely ladies have in-store appearances to promote their latest works at local book stores tonight.

Tera Patrick--who has a degree in Biology--just released her tell-all, Sinner Takes All: A Memoir of Love and Porn, on the 5th and will be hanging out for an intimate reading at Book Soup in West Hollywood.

Burlesque icon and fetish film star Dita Von Teese will be at Daily Planet on Franklin to discuss Dita: Stripteese, a trio of flip books documenting her famous acts--including the legendary Martini Glass Dance. A show-all, if you will.

Both start at 7pm, so choose wisely. My vote is for Patrick. Her title has the more clever pun.

*This is kind of cruel. But after 9 months here, the "collegiate cool" style was so glaringly ridiculous. Really? A beanie with ears? You're twenty.

-- Heather Robertson

Photo credit: booksoup.com

Advance Notice. Youth in Revolt.

Somehow, through his various roles as the lovable George Michael (Arrested Development) to the kind-of-ass Michael Cera (Paper Heart), Michael Cera has become that actor people love to love or love to hate. He's always playing the same sort of character, but it's one that you can't help but like, and goshdarnit if Cera isn't just a cute, bumbling Canadian.

But this next movie may be a test of Cera's staying power. In Youth in Revolt, Cera not only plays Nick Twisp--a by-the-book coming-of-age Cera character--but also Francois, Twisp's cooler, more confident alter ego. Can Cera defy us all and become someone actually different?

See for yourself at a sneak preview screening of the film at the Hammer Museum this Thursday. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Miguel Arteta and Cera himself. If that feels like it'll be too much Cera for you (unbelievable!), you can always check out the film when it's released on Friday.

**BONUS TRACK: Perhaps we have underestimated Mr. Cera...-- Chau Tu

Photo credit: Hammer Museum, digg.com

Eat In. Ratatouille.

Before the movie with the cute rat chef (Luigi), ratatouille was the name for the amazing, tasty French soup. Colorful, healthy, easy, and fast, ratatouille can be a quick fancy dish for a dinner at home, and can be served either as a soup, sauce over noodles, or as a tagine over quinoa. It really is quite versatile.

When doing your shopping for this, be sure to pick out different color vegetables to give it a really pretty appearance and diversify the nutrients you absorb.

Check It. Big Love: The Complete Third Season.

For all you Big Love fans out there, today is the DVD release of the HBO series' Complete Third Season. Catch up on the latest in the lives (life?) of Bill, Barb, Nicki and Margene before the Season Four premiere Sunday at 9:00 p.m.

Even if you're weirded out by a show about polygamy, it's worth a watch due to the all-star cast and high overall show quality that is HBO standard.

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: www.hbocanada.com

Eat In. Lentil salad.

A refreshing, healthy salad that is very easy to make early in the week and stores well is the lentil salad. Before my aunt made this for me, I didn't know you could use lentils in anything other than lentil soup, but this salad is very easy and quite tasty.

What you'll need:

--Steamed, packaged dark lentils, available at Trader Joe's

--One Granny Smith apple, finely cubed

--red onion, also finely cubed

--red bell pepper, diced

--dried cranberries, optional

--balsamic dressing

Just combine all these ingredients together in a large bowl, adding dressing and salt to taste. As the week progresses, the lentils will absorb more of the dressing and become a bit tastier. It may be better to let this sit a while before eating, actually. Super easy and healthy.

Bon appetit!

-- Lauren Williams

Photo credit: Food Network

Check It. Hearst Castle.

Hearst Castle (Hearst San Simeon State Historical Monument), William Randolph Hearst's estate, is an amazing place to see. It's about four hours north of L.A. and a really beautiful drive up the coast. They are open daily for tours and reservations are recommended. Twenty-eight years in the making, the castle is phenomenal. The newspaper and magazine man really knew how to live it up. Not only is the sheer size of the place (115 rooms in the Main House--"Casa Grande") impressive, but the priceless art each room holds shows the lavish lifestyle Hearst experienced. The pool area, shown above (and also featured in the film Spartacus), is only the beginning. There is Tour 1, the Experience Tour, for first-timers, and then four additional detail tours best suited for returning visitors.

San Luis Obispo (about three hours north of L.A.) is a convenient place to stay the night on the way up or back from San Simeon.

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Do It. A new do.

If a few of your New Year's Resolutions were to both save money and get a new look, then you're in luck. Rudy's Barbershops located in the Silverlake, Melrose, and Downtown areas of LA as well as Santa Monica and Hollywood, are quick, stylish, and affordable.

Men's buzz cuts are $15, styling $24 (for men), and for women, a wash, cut, and styling is usually about $35. Another bonus is that they only use quality products: Bumble & Bumble.

I've never had a bad cut here and never waited more than five minutes. The one downside: Sometimes the stylists and the clientele have a too-cool-for-you attitude, and some of the cuts are a bit too modern/stylish/cool.

But all of the hairdressers are very knowledgeable. Because of my curly hair, I've had so many people that don't understand that one inch while it's wet, means three when it's dry for the curly haired person. The stylists at Rudy's know exactly how to treat hair of all types, and have great recommendations.

Other locations around the Pacific Northwest are in Portland, Ore., and Seattle, if you're traveling.

Pictured above is the Rudy's off Melrose, but I usually go to the one Downtown inside the Standard hotel, off 5th and Flower.

-- Lauren Williams

Photo credit: Flickr.

Happy New Year!

We'd like to thank our readers for all the support in 2009. We wish you all an excellent 2010!

Happy New Year!

-- the BEAT