I have been writing up a lot of love for Portland recently so I wanted to focus on a few other favorite places today and some cool stuff going on in each city. If you are in New York or Los Angeles, here’s what I would be doing this weekend if I were there, too!

In New York, I’m pleased to announce that the outstanding documentary Sputnik Mania is premiering tonight at the IFC Center (323 Avenue of the Americas, at Third Street). The film is based on my father-in-law Paul Dickson‘s book Sputnik: The Shock of the Century. I saw it at the Seattle world premiere last summer and just loved it. It’s showing for the next two weeks, so if you’re in or near the city, don’t miss it!

Congratulations, Paul! I was very excited to see the fantastic and well-deserved review in the New York Times today, too.

On the other side of the country., Sara Wookey is premiering a new performance, Walking L.A., at 7 and 9 pm tomorrow. When I lived in the city, I absolutely loved walking there, especially downtown (and in Griffith Park, and Los Feliz, and Silver Lake…) so I really wish I could be there to check it out! It’s free, you just need to make reservations and request tickets for the time you prefer.

Andrew and I first met Sara at an arts festival in Belgium and I’ve had the chance to see some of her subsequent performances in California, too. Here is what she has to say about this show:

This multi-disciplinary performance work evolved from Sara’s experiences of walking in Los Angeles. A meeting ground of movement, video, text and live sound, this performance highlights the subsurface layers of the city made available to the one who walks and offers up alternative ways of reading and re-imagining it.

ps: on another geographical note entirely, Go Heels!