double feature #1.

If I could be anywhere right now, it would be here.

Dreaming of Malibu.

Alas, I am couch bound for the next few weeks, and can't stray too far from...my couch. Since I have a lot of time on the couch, I thought I would start a new feature called "Double Feature." So, let's all settle into couch potato mode and catch up on some of the films I've wanted to see.

First up: The Awakening and The Woman in Black.

I'm a sucker for good old fashioned, Gothic ghost stories. Throw in some English accents, and I'm an even bigger sucker. I just can't resist.

Luckily, I found two recent entries into the genre: The Awakening, starring the wonderful Rebecca Hall and The Woman in Black with a post-Harry Potter Daniel Radcliffe.

The movies feature similar plots-- small, English countryside towns terrorized by ghosts. They both feature the amazing British character actors I love--Dominic West and Imelda Staunton in The Awakening, Ciaran Hinds and Janet McTeer in The Woman in Black.

The Awakening is the superior film, with a far more complex story, where the haunting arises from buried guilt and emotions of the protagonist, and a nifty double twist at the end. The Woman in Black, while gorgeously shot (reminding a lot of True Detective), features a deathly slow, hackneyed plot--the revenge of The Mother--that's rife with empty scares.

So, see The Awakening--a stunningly-acted ghost story for adults, but pass on The Woman in Black.

While I'm a little bummed that I'm housebound and not operating at full capacity, it doesn't mean I can't do and find fabulous--on the internet and out in the world. Here are a few I would like to share with you.

M Café's Macro Meal

I've been really wanting to step up my diet--go seriously vegan, at least during the week. And there's no better place to kick off that resolution than M Café in Hollywood. On the way back from the hospital, I stopped in for their Macrobiotic Bowl, filled with veggies, adzuki beans, seaweed and brown rice. My commitment has to a new way of living has begun.

I also picked up a couple of new items at Trader Joe's--the Melodious Blend of green garbanzos, red and green lentils, in the freezer section and a bag of the new black rice. WARNING: the black rice is a bit messy. But put these two together with some lemon and herbs, and you've got yourself a satisfying weekday lunch.

I also came upon this great, new blog: Running with Tweezers. Check out these recipes for green gazpacho and a roasted eggplant and white bean dip. I will be whipping these up in the near future.

I don't generally like to use this blog to post what's wildly popular on the internet. I prefer the undiscovered, the gems yet to be mined. However, I couldn't resist this one: photographer Andrew Knapp travels everywhere, placing his border collie Momo in "Where's Waldo" type scenarios and then Instagrams it all. Bonus: it's a book, Find Momo.

So much fun, and I haven't even gotten them all yet.

Photos via @AndrewKnapp

So, if I were able to get out and about, here's what I would be doing:

The L.A. Chamber Orchestra is throwing a Strad Fest! Why didn't somebody think of this sooner? It's a two-night extravaganza featuring more Strads than you can shake a horsehair bow at. The Stradosphere gala takes place on March 29th at the very exclusive California Club and tickets are a cool $750. But on the night before, there's the Strad Fiddlefest at the Broad Stage, and the program looks pretty incredible.

  The Da Vinci Stradivarius, 1725

Another not-to-be-missed music series that kicked off this weekend is Minimalist Jukebox, hosted by L.A. Philharmonic and Disney Hall, but also featuring artists and chamber groups from around the city.

The stars of the program are the Kraftwerk 3-D concerts, and tickets are going fast. But if I had my choice, I would opt to see the incredible Calder Quartet perform in the Green Umbrella Series, the equally awesome Lyris Quartet perform Philip Glass in the Jacaranda Series and John Adams conduct the Colburn School Orchestra in his own pieces, Hallelujah Junction and Gnarly Buttons.

AND there's a good chance that I'll be recovered enough to attend these events, so I just may report back to you on them.

I'm also playing with Mextures these days, the next wave in filtered photos. It's pretty sophisticated, a step up from Instagram, Pixlromatic, Picstitch and the like. The effects are more refined, and to blend the right ones together is a bit of a learning process. But I am having fun with it.

That's all for now. Stay tuned for my next Double Feature.