Events Roundup: I'd like to be... under the sea.

Is it wrong to already dream of the upcoming long weekend on a Tuesday? Maybe, or maybe just masochistic. Ah well. It's sunny and breezy and beautiful out and the birds are chirping. I'm watching the scene from my office and yearning to join the merriment. If, like me, you have to wait until tonight to experience le fun, check this:

Party:

-BEATLES Party that is. The Red Room is having a goodbye event for someone I don't know, but it goes hand in hand with a screening of "Yellow Submarine" and live Beatles covers later on in the night, as well as Beatles tunes being DJed. I don't think I used the term Beatles enough in this paragraph, so if you like The Beatles, you should go to the Beatles Party at The Red Room (Myslíková 28) tonight at 8 p.m.


Theater:

-Tonight is the night for the chosen three in this year's Prague Playwriting Contest. Catch the last performance of the three best plays and be there for when the jury decides which lucky playwright takes home a cash award of 10,000 kč. I wish I had thought ahead and participated, considering how broke I am now. Show starts at 7:30 p.m. at Divadlo Ponec, tickets are 220 kč.

Food:

-I don't know about you, but I'd love to be able to make my own fucking Gnocchi, since these little Italian potato dumplings are really SOOOO delicious. If you wanna learn how to make Gnocchi alla Romana, stop by Gallery Hunger (U Rajské Zahrady 2) tonight at 7 p.m. and become a Gnocchi making master FOR FREE! Seriously, what's not to love?

Sports and Comedy:

-Experience the Czech Inn Kavárna (Francouská 76) at its shizophrenic best: 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. March Madness aka College Basketball, followed by Too Soon?! comedy night at 8p.m. All at no charge whatsoever.

Events Roundup: Wooooofie!

Isn't this the cutest photo ever? I'm a big fan of art that involves chihuahuahs, or anything that involves chihuahuahs for that matter.

What's happening today? Let's take a look:

Music:

-All the cool kids are gonna go see Chain& the Gang with none other than Mr. Ian Svenonius formerly of The Make Up. Rowr. 8 p.m. at Final Club (Příběnická 8), tickets are 250 kč at the do-ah.

-If playing yourself is more your groove, and you got the blues, stop in to The Royal Oak (Anny Letenské 18) and participate in their blues jam. Starts at 7:30 p.m., no cover.

-Or you could go sing and play your little heart out over at the Czech Inn Kavarna (Francouská 76) at 8 p.m.

Chocolate:

-If you like it sweet, tonight's your night over at Gallery Hunger (U Rajské Zahrady 2). In this week's Chocolate Addicts workshop, you will learn to make chocolate mousse, chocolate cheesecake and a chocolate flan. Only 250 kč to participate, starts at 7 p.m., RSVP here.

Poetry:

-Thursday night is Poezie Suterén night, tonight over at Shakespeare's and Son's (Krýmská 12), this week with Vincent Farnsworth, Joshua Mensch and Louis Armand. Starts at 8 p.m., no cover.

Movies:

-For fans of Rembrandt or the French Institute (Štěpanská 35) screenings, I recommend catching Nightwatching tonight at 7 p.m., a movie about the creation of the painters' "The Nightwatching." 80 kč.

Events Roundup: Czechmate!

Chess:
-Unleash your inner nerd and wow them with some chess moves, tonight at The Royal Oak's (Anny Letenské 18) Chess Club meeting, starts at 7:30 p.m., no cover.

Fashion/Party:
-Vice magazine is holding a fashion show tonight at 8 p.m. Final Club (Příběnická 8) , there's no cover but you have to follow the 2nd hand look dress code, otherwise they threaten to ask you to strip naked. There's DJs and other fashion show typical shenanigans.

Sports:
-March madness college basketball at the Czech Inn (Francouská 76) which also coincides with their 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. happy hour that features 20 kč Budvars.

Food:
-It's Taste Test Tuesday over at Gallery Hunger (U Rajské Zahrady 2), and risotto is what's for dinner. Basically that means a free lesson that starts at 7 p.m. and culminates in a yummy meal. You can bring ingredients such as onion, garlic, parmesan or two parsnips if you want to contribute something. Make sure to let chef Michael Corkery know if you are coming and what you'd be bringing.

Cinema:
-If you have 200 minutes and 100 kč, go over to Světozor (Vodičková 39) to check out Děti 50. let (Children of the 50s). It's a compilation of seven documentaries made by FAMU students. All of them deal with daughters of policial prisoners in the 1950s, who were labelled "children of enemies of the state" and how that affected their lifes. Sounds really interesting, starts at 6:30 p.m.

Events Roundup: Happy Mating Season!

-Spring is here and it's Friday. What more could we want? Maybe warmer nights so beergarden time can go into full effect. But I believe in cherishing what you've got, so I'm perfectly happy with spring redux right now.





FRIDAY:

Music:
-Ken Nash (Prague) and Holly Mae and the Painted Room (Berlin) will be performing at Nano Cafe (Krýmská 21) tonight at 7:30 p.m., featuring a rare double performance by drummer Sarah Morris. Looks like events at this tiny venue are becoming more and more regular.

Food:
-All you can eat Beef Borguignon and even a veggie option!!! at Gallery Hunger (U Rajské Zahrady 2) from 8 p.m. You know the drill: It's 99 kc and BYOB. Make sure to RSVP.

Party:
-My personal vision of hell, but different strokes for different folks, would be the HUGE EXPATS PLUG AND PLAY PARTY at Sasazu tonight at 9 p.m. It features "2000 fun-loving expats." If any of the vile individuals that troll the boards are showing up, it could quickly turn into a grump fest, but maybe I'm just cynical. 200 kč to get in.

Movies:
-Bio Oko (Františka Křížka 15) cinema is showing "Fish Tank" at 8:30 p.m. Go if you haven't seen it yet, it's really amazing. English with Czech titles.


SATURDAY:

Party:
-The Royal Oak (Anny Letenské 18) is having a Beach Party! Dress code: Beach wear. Yes, I'm serious. There will also be rugby, to add to the randomness. Sounds like it could be a good time, though. 8 p.m., no cover.

-I don't know anything about underground dubstep or other, made-up sounding musical genres, but I've been told Cross Club is worth checking out. Tonight's party "Very Foreign Affairs" features some DJ called Peverelist from Bristol. 100 kč to get in, and it starts at 9 p.m., though I am guessing it's more like 11:30 p.m.

Music:
-Brazilian beats over at Jazzdock with the Yvonne Sanchez, Pedro Tagliani and Flavia Torga trio. Starts at 7 p.m. and it's 250 kč to get in, 150 kč for students.

-Kate Powers, a girl with a guitar and some serious pipes, is playing The Globe (Pštrossova 6) tonight at 8 p.m. for the first time, so show her some love.

Movies:
-Nah. Nothing that catches my eye at least.




SUNDAY:

-Another one of Michael Corkery's fab cooking classes from the Food for Dudes series (you know you need it, guys! Free yourself from the enslaving chains of canned soup and take-out). This one features one ingredient that even drunk bachelors can manage to stock at home: The allmighty egg. Learn how to make deliciousness with it over at Gallery Hunger (U Rajské Zahrady 2)) at 4 p.m. for 500 kc. That's only about twice as much as you likely pay for dinner at some mediocre restaurant.

Other than that, I think it'll be a lovely day for a walk. Breathe the fresh spring air in a park of your choice, pack a bottle of lemonade and some cookies and stop for a mini-picknick. Sounds really good, doesn't it?

Events Roundup: Phat Tuezday

-If you're having a WTF moment and are dying to find out where the above picture is from, check here. Basically, someone is seriously trying to eat their way to a Guinness world record. I'll leave it up to you to figure out which one...

-As I mentioned yesterday, multi-instrumentalist and Canadian Indie star Owen Pallett (former projects include Final Fantasy) is playing Roxy's NOD (Dlouhá 33) tonight at 8 p.m., tickets were 350 kč per email pre-order, so I imagine it will be that or slightly more at the door. I know, how smart of me.

-Comedy night at the Czech Inn (Francouská 76) at 8 p.m. The group is called "Too Soon?" and I imagine they'll try to make you laugh. No cover.

-If you wanna get weeknight-crunk, Hush Café's 2-for-1 cocktail deal between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. seems like an excellent deal (Lublaňská 39).

Roundup: It's going to snow, so who cares.

TONIGHT

MUSIC

U.S. band Sin Ropas plays Strahov Klub 007 at 7:30 p.m. From their web site: "Tim Hurley and Danni Iosello find buried truths and turn them into something essential and new, making pop music so resonant and evocative that their records are simultaneously featured on "Best of Rock" lists while also appearing on Top-10 Alt-Country reviews and psychedelic music websites." Psychedelic music web sites?! Prague has one of those!

MOVIES

Kino Aero shows two English features. At 6 p.m., The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, aka Heath Ledger's last role. What does James say?! 95 Kc.

At 8:30 p.m. Aero shows Fish Tank, a U.K. movie about the English hood and one girl's struggle to escape it all through dance. Ok it's probably not that simple. But tell me you aren't curious about what the projects are like in the U.K., ammirite?

SATURDAY

MUSIC

Klub 007 hosts another U.S. import, Born to Lose, at 7:30 p.m. From their web site (and I'm realllly starting to enjoy these by the way): "They've been called everything from "Street Punk" to "Pub Rock", but one thing's for sure, no labels are gonna stop'em from serving up their own brand of Texas flavored punk rock." Well yippie-kay-yay motherfuckers strap on yer cowboy boots and Ramones T shirt and show the Eastern bloc how it's DONE!

MOVIES

Kino Aero plays a 10:30 showing of Katka, a formidable Czech project. From Aero's web site: Observed for over a decade (13 years), this documentary follows Katka, Lada and Jana through their world of drugs, prison, love and responsibility. They live on the streets in Prague, hustling for drugs, stealing, attempting murder. 80 Kc

SUNDAY

THE OSCARS

The Academy Awards... I complain about nearly every big event, i.e. the Olympics, the Super Bowl, the final Rose Ceremony on the Bachelor. Mainly because I can be a miserable little grumpy pants who's first grade teacher didn't love her, or something. But this... why am I supposed to care? Movies are great. So are books. Do authors have a big ceremony where they get critiqued about what they're wearing and then have a circle jerk about their books for four hours?

I know, I know, enough already. In any case, I won't see you at The Globe's showing of the 82nd annual Academy Awards, starting at 11 p.m. Kitchen stays open late. Pstrossova 6

SPEED DATING

Bar Bresto, which has enough decently-priced wines to make this thing viable, is hosting speed dating for expats. I thought it was kind of cute, until I noticed that the age limits are not equal. Women get cut off at 40, men, 44. Cold!

Evening Roundup: What's happening, Praha?

If you're having "just another manic Monday" and you want to hide under a blanket, I'm with you. But if you're one of those people that are feeling all perky because Sunday’s left them with enough energy to leave the house tonight, check this:

Two pub quizzes tonight:

8 p.m. at the Czech Inn (Francouzská 76) hosted by Paul, but get there early if you want to snag a booth or good seating for that matter, it tends to fill up.

7 p.m. at the Royal Oak (Anny Letenské 18) as part of their monthly pub quiz series.

A happy hour we like:

5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Banditos (Melounová 2, daily). Especially if you're craving cheap Mexican food. The 50 Kč nacho plate is actually quite filling. Of course, drinks are on special, too.

The movies:

6 p.m. Pouta, at Lucerna Kino (Vodičkova 36), tickets are 115 Kč, Czech with English subtitles

7 p.m. Black Dynamite, at Kino Evald (Národní 28), tickets are 99 Kč, English with Czech subtitles

8:45 p.m. The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, at Světozor (Vodičkova 41) , tickets are 100 Kč, English with Czech subtitles

9 p.m. Up in the Air, at Kino Evald (Národní 28), tickets are 99 Kč, English with Czech subtitles

Song and Dance:

Sssssh: 8 p.m. Karaoke at Blind Eye (Vlková 26), and happy hour from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.